Persona 5: Consequences of Maxing Everything
by jean010
Summary: Maybe he had followed Yaldabaoth's words about making powerful bonds far too strongly. He probably should have seen this one coming too. What was the leader of the Phantom Thieves supposed to do when his demise was approaching, not in the form of Shadows, but rather in the form of his female friends? The word dense truly didn't do him justice.
1. Last Day I

"Akira" Normal Speech

'Akechi' People's thoughts

 **"Persona"** Other being's speech

' **Velvet'** Other being's thoughts

 **Disclaimer: You know the drill, Persona and the SMT franchise belong to our lord Atlus, may Hamuko/FemMC be playable in P3DMN**

 **Prologue**

 **Consequences of a Perfect Run**

Morgana knew that something was definitely wrong.

He was sharp, which was saying a lot considering that he was a cat, something that he had come to accept a long time ago. He wasn't a normal cat after all, but rather the hopes of mankind turned into one single being thanks to the power of the Velvet Room and Igor.

That definitely beat being just a human, even if the cat tongue still got in the way of him trying the famous curry that Sojiro, and now also his best friend, were known for.

That and it was definitely an issue whenever he tried to court Lady Ann, but he was sure she would come around sooner or later, he had the charm after all, and if his first Persona being Zorro didn't show that then he didn't know what would.

But if there was something he felt himself proud of, it was how perceptive he could be.

Not about everything of course, after all whether he liked it or not he had to admit that there were some stuff that he just didn't know about. Futaba's entrance on the team had showed him that more than clearly.

But there was one single thing that he knew he bested everyone in it, even all of the other members of the Phantom Thieves, and that thing was a simple yet important one for him.

He was the one that knew Akira Kurusu, or rather Joker as he preferred to call him, the best.

It might sound a weird thing to be proud of, but it became apparent once you started to know the man that had lead them all in a mad fight against a god to save Japan and probably the world.

Joker's poker face was impeccable, his demeanor was the one that the situation called for, and his inner thoughts were probably the biggest, most guarded treasure that Morgana had ever seen.

It sounded like he was exaggerating, but he was not. The glass-wearing teen could go from completely calm, almost to the point of being shy, to being as cocky as he could get to be without being an outright douche, with pride oozing out him.

He also loved to keep stuff for himself. He was most definitely the silent type of guy, one that could asset the situation objectively with a mind that, in his opinion, almost rivaled the one of their tactician, Makoto Niijima, which was saying a lot.

Definitely a quality that he admired from their leader, and at this point he just couldn't imagine the Phantom Thieves operating without that guy on the lead.

But even so, with all of those facts it made it extremely hard to be able to read the guy. He just kept his cards so close to his chest that when all the others had told him that Joker had surrendered himself to the police without telling anyone he hadn't be surprised.

Angry? Most definitely. Surprised? Not at all.

So the fact that he _knew_ that he was the best at reading the infamous leader of the Phantom Thieves was a source of pride for the black cat. It definitely came with the fact that both had been living together in the same room for the better part of a year, something that he wouldn't change for anything.

At first he had just started noticing things, small details that he was sure others would just ignore or pass of as nothing. The way his eyebrow twitched slightly when something was upsetting him, the way he touched his glasses, or even his mask, when he was deep in thought, and even the way he played with his own hair when something confused him, they were all things that he had started paying attention to, more out of their leader's sake than anything else.

After all _someone_ had to take care of the guy and who better than him? Especially considering how often he ran himself dead tired while doing so much stuff just to later act as if he was fine and dandy.

Joker had helped him and accepted him for who he was after all, so knowing when something was upsetting him and then helping with it was the least he could do.

But Morgana was sure that, even if he wasn't as sharp as he was, there was no way that he would not have noticed that something was completely wrong. He would have to been blind to not have noticed it.

After all when the normally stoic and calm Akira Kurusu goes to check his phone, looks at it for a few straight minutes, pretty much unmoving, just to then drop said phone, become pale as a ghost and with an actual shocked expression on his face, that's when you just knew the world was pretty much ending.

What type of message could Joker have gotten in his phone for him to have such an open reaction? It must have been something extremely big, Morgana knew, after all not even when fighting against Yaldabaoth had he showed such an open shock.

Heck not even when Satanael had descended from the skies had the teen acted with surprise, almost as if he had seen it coming. He still had shivers just thinking of that Persona's power.

And it was that same guy the one that had now broken into a cold sweat over something on his phone!

The only reason he hadn't gone to check what was written on it was his respect for Joker's privacy, even if curiosity was killing him.

There was no way he could ignore something like this after all, especially if it got this type of reaction from Joker of all people.

" **Uhm… Joker?"** he knew that calling him like that now that the Metaverse was gone was unnecessary, but he was far too used to it to stop now, and the guy didn't seem to mind anyway, so it was ok in his book **"Are you…ok? What happened? You look as if Yaldabaoth himself had returned or something"**

Then again, a part of Morgana knew that even if that was the case, his leader wouldn't act as surprised as he was right now.

And for a moment the cat honestly thought that the young man sitting on his bed had not heard him at all, with the way his wide eyes were still glued to the cellphone in the floor, almost as if wondering how such a thing even existed.

It took almost a whole minute for Joker to finally react, and when he did it just made Morgana worry even more, with the way his friend moved his head slowly, almost mechanically, to look straight at him, with such an lost gaze that the Persona-user almost wondered if his leader even knew where he was at the time.

Then he saw how his mouth opened and closed, since the black-haired man apparently wanted to say something, but words refused to leave him. It was most definitely a weird sight, seeing the man that had faced a god with nothing but a smirk on his lips now looking like a very confused fish.

Then again, his next words just seemed to throw Morgana into his own world of surprise.

"I think I fucked up"

If there was one rule that Morgana had come to know in his time living with Akira Kurusu, it was that the teen never, _ever_ , cursed. No, that was more like Ryuji's thing. Not ever since he had met him had Morgana heard a single bad word leave his leader's lips, not _one_.

And that pretty much made it official in the cat's mind.

Whatever was coming to them, it was something they were not ready for.

If only he knew.

 **P5P5P5P5P5P5P5P5P5P5P5P5P5**

Ann Takamaki was a girl with a mission.

She had prepared herself as best as she could for what she was going to do today, to the point that her blue eyes shined with nothing but raw determination.

She looked at her reflection in the mirror of her room once more, nodding approvingly at what she saw. Not that she was wearing anything fancy mind you, just a usual casual outfit for her. Today it wasn't about clothes though. No, she knew that just dressing pretty was not going to cut it, today she had to bring her A-game if she was going to get what she wanted.

Her eyes narrowed slightly. And damn right she would get it.

A vibration in her hand, alongside a very familiar melody, brought the blonde's attention to the object in her palm. It was her phone of course, indicating that it had received a message of sorts.

She was quick to read it, a small smile blossoming in her face as she did. It was from her best friend Shiho after all. That already was more than enough to make her happy, but the contents of the text itself just made her feel even more excited about what today would bring.

It wasn't a very long text though; just a few words of encouragement for what she would do today, but it meant a lot to her that her friend was supporting her like this. She knew that she would be a nervous mess otherwise, but Shiho's confidence in her was enough to throw the feelings of uncertainty out of her and replace them with nothing but sheer determination.

After a few clicks on her phones her own answer had been sent to her friend, the blonde model then putting the device in her pocket before looking at her reflection in the mirror once more, right before slapping her cheeks slightly. It was do or die today.

Her eyes drifted to her bed, or to be more precise, to the small box resting on top of it. It didn't look like anything special, just a small brown one with a little bow on the top, but to her it was the culmination of her hard work.

She was so thankful that Shiho knew how to bake chocolates, even if following instructions over the phone had been a tad vexing. She had done it nonetheless, and she just knew that _he_ would love them.

A small tint of pink filled her cheeks as soon as she picked the box from her bed, but it was gone as soon as she shook her head, a deep breath escaping her lips. Now was not the time to start getting nervous!

Having everything she needed she finally made a move towards the door of her room, knowing that she had time but also wanting to get there as soon as possible, with one last thought filling her head.

She was not only Ann Takamaki, but she was also Panther, member of the infamous Phantom Thieves of Hearts, and just like her namesake implied today she was a hunter.

And she wasn't going to let her elusive leader escape her this time!

 **P5P5P5P5P5P5P5P5P5P5P5P5P5**

Makoto Niijima was so close to becoming a nervous wreck.

It wasn't normal to see the normally calm and focused Student Council President of Fujin Academy like that. In fact some people would say that it was outright impossible, but the brunette knew better than that. She knew that she was inexperienced in a lot of things, something that sadly came with how focused she was with her studies, and definitely something that was now coming to bite her in the butt.

After all, for all the things she wasn't familiar with, there was one that easily took the prize.

And that was of course, romance.

Her cheeks flared a bit, and she didn't have to look at herself in a mirror to know she was sporting a blush. Of course, whenever the topic of romance ever crossed her mind, it always ended up going back to _him_.

She couldn't back down at this point though. No, it was too late, she had already sent him a message after all, and not going now after that was simply unacceptable in her head.

She would have to suck up her nervousness and go forward, even if the sight of the medium, dark yellow box in top of the table in her living room was enough to make her fidget a bit.

Would he like them? She would like to think that indeed he would, and the most rational part of her brain told her that they were delicious and that there was no way he would _not_ like them. Not only she had tested them after all, but she was also quite confidant in her cooking skills. It came with being the one that cooked the most between her and her sister.

Not that she minded of course, especially considering just how busy her sister was all the time.

Speaking of said silver-haired woman.

"Are you ready to go, Makoto?" her sister's voice regarded her from the door of their apartment, her arms crossed over her chest while a smile was plastered on her face, her eyes showing amusement.

"Ah, uhm, right yes" she answered nervously while fixing her hair, even if it was unnecessary, right before she grabbed the box from the table and then moved towards her sister, her own gaze down.

While for her part Sae simply shook her head, finding a bit hard to connect the nervous girl in front of her with the resolute woman she had seen working alongside the rest of the Phantom Thieves.

Not that the silver-haired beauty didn't know why she was acting like that, something that made her glad, after all it meant that the relationship between the two was becoming stronger, something that Sae had wanted for a while now.

You would have to be blind to not have noticed it though, after all when her little sister not only asked her if she could give her a ride to LeBlanc on _this_ particular day, but also had asked her stuff about _boys_ of all things, the connection made itself obvious in her head pretty quickly.

And she had to admit that the idea of her younger sister liking, let alone dating anyone was a bit daunting for her, then again it's not like she could even complain about the guy her sister had a crush on.

It was hard to when not only had he fought tooth and nail against forces beyond anything she thought capable just to protect literally everyone, but then he had also gone as far as to surrender himself to the police just to protect the rest of his team.

Yep, her sister could definitely have picked someone a lot worse.

"Sis…" she was taken out of her thoughts by Makoto calling out to her, with the two standing in front of the open door, more than ready to leave "Thank you…"

She was a bit taken back by the sincerity in her younger sister's voice, but in the end she just smiled gently at her, her hand going up to slowly caress the girl's brown hair, getting a surprised look from her red eyes.

She just hoped that her sister's first crush didn't end in heartbreak.

"Just make sure to tell him how you feel properly, alright?" she said, getting a small gasp from the brown-haired girl right before she looked down awkwardly, a small nod being the only response Sae got.

And at that moment one Makoto Niijima would have killed to simply be able to act just how she did in the Metaverse, as Queen of the Phantom Thieves.

Considering how she was going to face Joker of all people, she could certainly use the confidence boost.

 **P5P5P5P5P5P5P5P5P5P5P5P5P5**

'I can do it, I can do it, I can do it, I can do it' she repeated in her mind like a mantra, psyching herself up for what she would do today. It was definitely a first for her, and even as better as she had gotten when dealing with other people the simple thought of what she was going to do was almost enough to make her want to hide herself in her closet just out of sheer embarrassment.

But she couldn't do that. No, she refused; she had gone way too far to stop herself now. Just texting him that one particular message earlier had already taken a toll on her, which was saying a lot considering how comfortable she always was when writing him, and she wasn't going to let that go to waste.

She fixed her glasses, her orange hair bobbling as she nodded appreciatively, her eyes focused on the information present on the monitor of her computer. She had even gone as far as to research what couples normally did on a day like this. Sure they weren't actually together like that, but that would certainly change today if she had a say about it.

A small blush appeared on her face, remembering some of the more… explicit stuff she had found while looking for help in the internet. She would really have clean her browsing history after this.

Sure, she could have asked Sojiro about it, but boy did that sound as awkward as it could get.

It had taken a while for her to understand her own feelings, but now that she did there was no way she could stay quiet about it, especially considering how her Key Item was so close of going back to his previous home.

She then looked at the object resting on her lap, one that she was sure Morgana would love out of the sheer design; after all she had actually gone out of her way to find one that resembled the black cat. She hoped her Key Item would appreciate the joke, especially considering how even the chocolates looked like their feline friend's face.

For that she had most certainly asked Sojiro for help. He was the best cooker of the two after all, especially when you consider how little experience she had. At least her father in all but blood hadn't questions much about it, apparently being more than happy with just helping her.

Although the knowing smirk he kept shooting at her when he thought she wasn't looking was enough to tell her he wasn't fooled at all.

"Alright!" she said with determination while abruptly standing up, fire burning in her eyes. It was time to make all the levels she had gained every since she joined the Phantom Thieves be worth something.

"Futaba, are you ok there?" a sudden knock on her door, followed by a voice she recognized easily almost made the girl squeak in surprise. Had she really been that loud?

"Y-yeah! Don't worry, Sojiro!" she answered hastily before nodding twice to assure herself.

"Alright if you say so" the voice coming from the other side of her room told her that he didn't really bought it "Be sure to get ready then, we're going in a few minutes"

And then just hearing that was enough to make her heart beat faster than she thought was possible, nervousness once again filling her, knowing that in just a matter of minutes she would be at LeBlanc, facing her Key Item and telling him how she felt.

…Was it really that late to just hide under her bed or something?

"Pull yourself together, Oracle!" she said under her breath, gaining strength from her title as a member of the Phantom Thieves. If she was able to support her team through everything they had faced, then she most certainly could do this!

Futaba Sakura was coming, and she was more than ready to make one particular Thieve a permanent member of her party!

 **P5P5P5P5P5P5P5P5P5P5P5P5P5**

"Are you ready to go, Miss?" her driver asked from the front seat of her limo, looking back at her from the reflection in the rearview mirror, sunglasses blocking said driver's eyes.

"Yes, thank you" an answer with a soft, happy tone, alongside a smile was the response he got, making the man give a small nod before beginning their travel, their journey being a simple and small cafe in Yongen-Jaya.

And with each passing second that the limousine got close to its destination the auburn-haired girl couldn't stop the small pit of nervousness from forming itself in her stomach. This was her first time doing anything even remotely romantic after all, for she didn't consider even a second she had spent with her ex-fiancé even close to romantic.

She shook her head, her fluffy hair mirroring her movements. There was no need to ruin this day with thoughts like that. She had gotten over that man, and with any luck she wouldn't have to deal with him ever again.

And that was one more thing she owed to the young man that had taken over most of her thoughts for a while now. Knowing him he would refuse such a claim, saying that it had been all on her, but she knew better, he had given her the strength to break the shackles that had kept her in a bind.

A small, genuine smile found its way to her lips, her arms hugging the small pink bag that she had closer to her chest, for with how bleak her world had been before, first with her arranged marriage that she wanted nothing to do with, to then losing her father, she had honestly thought at one point that there was no hope.

But everything had changed. _She_ had changed, she now had the strength to keep moving forward into the uncertain future, hope in her eyes and a dream in her heart, and it was all thanks to her friends, the Phantom Thieves, and most specifically, to their leader.

Her smile became somehow even more tender as she thought of him, her eyes looking down at the chocolates in her hands with incredible intensity. It was her declaration to him after all, so she had made sure that they were as perfect as they could be. She couldn't ask for anything less.

But just as she kept looking at the bag in her hands, the precious smile that she had slowly, but surely, turned into a small frown, a sudden attack of weakness hitting her hard, something that she had to deal with for a while now.

In her head she knew that the small gift tasted delicious, but even so she wasn't able to avoid the doubts that formed in her heart. What if he didn't like them? What if he didn't even want them or didn't accept them? What if… he rejected her?

If her driver has chosen to look back at her at that right exact moment, he would have gotten a chill down his spine, for just for that one split second all light vanished from her normally warm brown eyes, her gaze almost becoming void of any emotion.

But just as quick as it came it suddenly disappeared, almost as if it had been nothing but a trick of lights. Her brown eyes regained their kind, warm look, a small giggle suddenly escaping her lips just as she played with her hair a bit.

How silly of her, there was no way that would happen. Today was going to be _perfect_ , so she declared not only on the Okumura name, but also on her title as Noir.

She truly couldn't wait to see him.

 **P5P5P5P5P5P5P5P5P5P5P5P5P5**

"Eh? You are leaving, doctor-lady?" the small tyke that had apparently taken a like to her asked, her big doe eyes looking up at her with no small amount of curiosity, truly fitting for a child, she thought.

She smiled down at the little girl, her normal consult outfit changed for a more casual one that fitted her style.

"Sorry little miss, but I have something important to do today, so I can't play with you" she answered truthfully with a nod of her head, simply getting a confused stare from said girl, who was still looking up at her with no small amount of wonder. Ah right, this was the first time she saw her in this outfit, didn't she?

"Really?"

"Yep" she answered swiftly once more, moving to the counter inside of her clinic to grab a small, black box. Probably the most important thing for today's activity, she thought, although considering how close this place was to her little Guinea Pig's house she was sure that even if she had forgotten about it she could have just come back to retrieve it.

"What are you going to do?" the younger girl asked again, getting a raised eyebrow from the black-haired beauty, quite the curious one, wasn't she? She wondered for a few seconds if she should tell something like this to such a young girl, but in the end she simply kneeled in front of her, the girl's attention still focused on her eyes.

"You remember when you told me about the boy you liked?" the back-alley doctor asked, getting an exaggerated nod from the girl, causing a small grin to appear on her lips "Well I just so happen to have someone like that too"

Now sharing stuff like that was not something she would normally do, but the girl was pretty inoffensive anyway, so she saw no troubles with it. This way they would even too.

"Eh?! Really?! Doctor-lady has a boyfriend!" the girl declared, honestly shocked, simply getting a chuckle from her right before she got up.

"Not yet actually" she continued, trying to calm the excited girl "If everything goes right I'll have one by the end of the day though"

She wasn't able to stop herself from licking her lips at that thought. She had spent quite some time without regular visits from her Guinea Pig after all. Leaving or not she was going to make sure to make him pay dearly for the lost time; he just didn't know it yet.

"Good luck, doctor-lady!" she almost chuckled again at the thumbs up she received from the little tyke.

"Thanks, kid" she answered honestly, her eyes shining with mischievousness. Luck? While she didn't mind the sentiment, she was going serious this time, she didn't _need_ luck.

She had been able to cure a disease on a little back ally that people in their expensive hospitals hadn't been able to process. Compared to that, giving chocolates to a teenager was a piece of cake.

Then again, this wasn't just any teenager, now was he? Of course not, that would have been too simple. No no, she was dealing with a member of the mysterious Phantom Thieves, one that had used his powers to help her more than what he probably even understood.

It sounded like a challenge alright, but she was Tae Takemi, and he was her most precious Guinea Pig.

Challenge or not, she wouldn't have it any other way.

 **P5P5P5P5P5P5P5P5P5P5P5P5P5**

"Ugh, she owes me big time for this…" she muttered under her breath, the pen in her hand moving swiftly between sheets of paper just as she checked and graded them, something that she was far more than used to considering her profession.

That didn't mean that she had to like it though, _especially_ when it wasn't even from her students, but no, her fellow teacher just had to dump all of this on her because of the arrangement she had.

She also had plans for this day! And it certainly didn't include doing another teacher's work. She ended up sighing, face resting on the palm of her hand just as her eyes drifted from the papers she still had to check to a small, heart-shaped package right at the side of her desk.

To think she would have such a thing at her age. She couldn't even remember the last time she even did anything in particular for a day like this. She normally just worked or stayed at home after all, but not this time. Today was different, this time she actually had someone to which she wanted to spend time with.

Sure, that someone just so happened to not only be a lot younger than her, but he was even her student, or former student at least, but at this point those were just little side things that she didn't particularly care about. It was hard to when he sometimes acted even more mature than her.

Maybe it came with being a Phantom Thieve? She wasn't sure after all, but she wouldn't be surprised. Not that she would complain mind you, especially not after everything he had done, not only for her, but even for the school with the whole Kamoshida mess.

"Great, I'm really fawning over a guy almost half my age" she complained slightly, looking at the box of chocolates with a small frown right before a smile appeared on her lips, her eyes becoming half-lidded. Bah, who the hell cared anyway? Her relationship was no one's business after all.

So what if she loved someone so young? Puff big deal.

She stretched her limbs from her seat, a small sigh escaping her lips. There was no turning back at this point anyway, she had already told him that she would be coming over, so she might as well just finish all this mess as soon as possible in order to go and finally meet him.

He was a lot more than just a student to her after all. He was her confidant; her trustable friend and the person that had helped her remember why she had become a teacher in the first place.

Sadayo Kawakami was a lot of things. Just a teacher most of the times, even a maid when the moon had been high in the sky, and now she was simply a woman in love.

If her student was going to make her act like this then he might as well take responsibility, right?

 **P5P5P5P5P5P5P5P5P5P5P5P5P5**

"Morning, Lala-chan!" she called enthusiastically, a grin present on her face, her right hand waving slightly at her friend.

"Oh?" the bartender looked at the oncoming woman with no small amount of surprise "Isn't it too early for you to start drinking? If you really came for that then I'll have to decline helping you"

In response she just waved her hand dismissively, taking the seat she always took whenever she was here. The whole bar was empty anyway, but at this point this was just her spot.

"Don't worry about it, Lala-chan. I'm just passing by anyway" she answered, focusing on her cross-dressing friend "Not like I can get drunk with what I'm planning to do today, anyway"

"Ho, is that so?" the owner of Crossroads said while whipping away a glass in her hand "You got some sort of big scoop today?"

In response she simply shook her head before presenting something to her friend, a small, white box with a ribbon on it, a cheeky smile still present on her red lips, while the bartender simply blinked owlishly at the younger woman, understanding what was being implied but barely being able to process it.

It was _that_ time of the year, now wasn't it? It certainly was good for her business, Lala thought, considering the amount of heartbroken individuals that decided to drink their sorrows away.

And her friend in front of her had been one of those same people just last year.

Not today apparently.

The cross-dresser's mind started going through any guy that could have gotten the interest of the journalist in front of her to the point that she would buy, or dare she believe, _make_ chocolates, but none came to mind. She was sure that if a guy like that existed she would know, after all the black-haired woman certainly liked to gossip about everything, especially when the alcohol kicked in.

'Wait…' her mind stopped. Could that be? It was the only logical conclusion after all, for as far as she knew he was the only guy that actually spent time with her younger friend. It was hard to forget such an insistent high schooler after all.

"You girly… you never struck me as the cradle-robber type of girl" Lala voiced her own conclusions, earning a small whine from her.

"Oh c'mon, Lala-chan! It's not like I'm going for him _just_ because he's young" she said seriously, right before another cheeky grin appeared on her face "That's just an added bonus"

"Heavens, dear…" Lala muttered with a small sigh, not knowing what to take on that comment.

"Besides…" the tone of her voice caught Lala's attention once again, the older woman looking down at the journalist, with the black-haired girl simply looking to the side, a small smile on her face, one so honest that Lala was pretty sure she could count with her fingers the amount of times she had seen that smile every since the incident.

Curiously enough, every time it had been in the presence of that same young man.

"I'm just not fooling around, you know?" and Lala honestly believed that. It was hard not to when you received such a serious gaze. That young man had been one of the best influences for her friend that Lala ever seen, so if the younger woman was serious about this, then who was she to judge?

"Just don't do anything crazy, he's still a kid after all" the bartender replied with a nod, a smile present on her face.

"If only you knew…" she muttered under her breath low enough for no one to hear, hardly considering the young man that had taken over her thoughts as just as kid. It was hard to once you remembered that not only he was a member of the group that had taken Japan by storm, the Phantom Thieves, but that he had also been thrown into probation, and later juvie, for crimes that he didn't commit.

If there was something she hated, it was people manipulating the truth, _especially_ when it came to someone she cared about deeply.

She was Ichiko Ohya after all, professional journalist, and the one with the best scoops whenever it came to the Phantom Thieves, something that was incredibly easy when you had a member of said group as a very close friend.

Then again, if everything went accordingly, after this day they would be so much more than just that.

 **P5P5P5P5P5P5P5P5P5P5P5P5P5**

"You're leaving early today?" it was one of her clients that addressed her, a rather young woman that had come to get a reading in the day.

"Yes, I'm extremely sorry, but there's something I must do today" she said, hoping that her purple eyes expressed that she wouldn't be leaving her spot like this if it wasn't important.

"Oh don't worry, I understand" the woman smiled, her eyes noticing a small brown bag with a red ribbon "Today is a special day after all. I wish I had someone like you do, Maiden-san"

"Eh? Ah, I mean, uhm…" a healthy blush blossomed in her face, a pout appearing just as the young woman chuckled before leaving.

The blonde fortune teller simply released a calming breath before continuing putting every tool she normally used for her craft away. She had spent a bit of time here already, but she really needed to leave if she wanted to reach his house early.

The last thing left on her tables, besides her home-made chocolates of course, were her favorite piece of her job: her tarot cards.

She could still remember just how dependant on their readings she had become, to the point that thinking about it now just made her a tad bit embarrassed about herself.

At least she had gotten over it. She had gone past a lot of the things that had tormented her in the past, and it was all thanks to the young man that has showed her that Fate could, in fact, be changed by anyone that tried hard enough.

She giggled a bit at that thought, since she also had to admit that even if that was true, her assistant still had a knack for doing it that she doubted anyone else had, even herself.

Did something like that come with being a Phantom Thieve? She had to wonder if that was true. Not that it really mattered for what she had planned today.

A part of her had wanted to use her cards to get a reading on what the day awaited for her, but she had quickly decided against it. After all Fate could be changed, and if it tried to stop her from accomplishing what she was setting herself to do then be sure that she would change it, one way or another.

Not even Fate could stop her at this point after all. She couldn't say exactly when, but the young man that had helped her so much had become the most important person for her in the massive city that was Tokyo.

He had come, challenging her views and made her rethink what she had believed every since she could remember. He hadn't even been mad after the whole stone fiasco, instead simply deciding to show her another way, and in the process helping her redeem herself with everyone that she had hurt under the excuse of her scam.

Even if Fate herself told her that she was going to fail, Chihaya Mifune was not going to give up, and today she was going to bag herself one assistant for life.

He liked older woman anyway, so she most definitely had this on the bag!

 **P5P5P5P5P5P5P5P5P5P5P5P5P5**

Hifumi Togo was a worried girl.

Her current worries were nothing compared to what she had experienced months ago. Between almost being forced to pose for a magazine that she didn't feel comfortable being part off and the rumors, which ended up being true, of her shogi matches being rigged, Hifumi had more than her own share of worries to deal with for a while now.

Not like everything had been bad of course, because even after all the trials and tribulations that she had been forced to face, the results ended up being something that she honestly couldn't complain about. Sure, her reputation among the Shogi community had taken quite the blow, but now she knew the true extent of her skills, and that's what mattered to her in the end.

Not only that, but even her rocky relationship with her mother had taken quite the turn, with the woman now being more acceptable of her passion for the game, and even openly supporting her about it without any hidden intentions.

And she knew exactly to who she owed that last one. It was to the third reason that the past year had actually been quite enjoyable, after all even among the bad things that had happened; he had been a constant presence on her side, one that at this point brought a smile to her face just by thinking about him.

And it had been his dealings as a Phantom Thieve that had changed her mother and for that she was truly thankful of him. He hadn't even abandoned her once she had told him that she was nothing but a joke in the game she loved so much.

And to think that at first she had just thought that he was just another one of her overbearing fans.

However it was also that same young man that had her so worried.

Or to be more precise it was what she wanted to do with him today what had her like that.

And if you wanted to be even _more_ specific, then it was the fact that her mother had stopped her right before she was able to leave, and with the smile that the older woman was sporting Hifumi just knew that there was no way she would be able to leave without giving a proper explanation.

Well, there went her plan of leaving as discretely as possible.

"You know…" her mother started, hands on her hip, a stern expression on her face that honestly just lasted a few seconds, before it melted into a small smile "If you wanted to go and see your boyfriend you just had to say it. I would have even helped, dear"

And with the small gasp she released, Hifumi was more than sure that her whole face was on flames right now. From where had her mother even gotten that idea?!

"I mean, you're all dressed up, trying to leave without me noticing, a box on your hands on _Valentine's Day_? You should give me some credit"

Alright so maybe it _was_ pretty obvious what she was trying to do, but even so! It's not like he was her boyfriend anyway, at least yet.

And with any luck that would change today.

"Sorry…" the young black-haired student said, her gaze low. It's not like she wanted to hide it from her mother, she just wanted to save herself from the embarrassment that she was sure would follow.

"Don't worry, Hifumi" Mitsuyo Togo said with a melancholy smile, looking straight at her daughter "You honestly remind me of myself a lot right now"

A surprised look appeared on Hifumi's face at hearing that, while the older Togo simply chuckled a bit. Quite honestly you would have to be stupid to not notice that someone had gotten her daughter's attention.

She was more than used to her child going to play by that church in Kanda in order to practice, however she had started to notice the little smiles that the Shogi player started displaying whenever she went and came back from that place, and the mother was sure that it wasn't just because of Shogi.

This just confirmed it even more.

"He must be quite the boy to have you worked up so much. You thought I wouldn't notice the small mess you made in the kitchen?" another blush appeared on Hifumi's cheeks, nothing but embarrassment going through her body.

"He is…" Hifumi said shyly, trying, and failing mind you, to recover from her mother's words.

"No reason to keep losing time then. Go on, but I want details later, alright?" the older woman received another nod from her daughter, who then made her move towards the door of their house, small black box with a red ribbon on her hand, her blush finally disappearing.

She released another calming breath, knowing that today wasn't the day to be shy or embarrassed. No, she needed to tackle this day the best way she could.

Her gaze became as sharp as when she was on the battlefield that was Shogi. Even if her opponent was the glass-wearing charmer she refused to back down, she would show him the Togo might, and would then claim him as her own.

It took her almost a couple of seconds to realize what she was thinking.

The last thing Mitsuyo Togo heard from her daughter before she left was another whine of embarrassment that had her chuckling even more.

 **P5P5P5P5P5P5P5P5P5P5P5P5P5**

" **I'm bored…"** she said in a low voice, her golden eyes looking up at the sky from the alley she found herself in, a deep blue door right behind her, with people walking in front and around her by the second.

Not that any of them noticed her. They couldn't after all, as simple as that. It came with being an assistant of the Velvet Room, you could only be observed by those you chose, which normally was limited to whoever was the current guest of said room.

And that would be enough for her, after all there was no doubt in her mind that if her beloved Trickster were to be here with her, all the boredom she had would simply go away.

But that wasn't really an option, now was it? Her Trickster was more than a little busy dealing with his daily life, especially considering what he had to deal with even after saving humanity from Yaldabaoth.

That man just never got a time to rest it seemed.

She still couldn't help but to feel just a bit…neglected. She couldn't help it though, after all the feelings that both Caroline and Justine had towards her Trickster had carried over to her, and while those two had it difficult when it came to expressing feelings, there was no doubt in her mind that they had loved her Trickster dearly.

She did so right now after all, and it was all thanks to the two of them.

Her golden gaze fell onto the book in her hands, her blonde hair framing her face. Her feelings for her Trickster were quite clear, she knew that for sure, but a part of her has wondered every since she had regained her form, how did her Trickster felt towards her?

She had to admit that, as she was right now, there really hadn't been much time for her to interact with him, at least not compared with how much time Caroline and Justine had spent with him.

But she would like to think that, in the short time they had been together, she had at least been able to leave an impression on him.

She would definitely like to confirm that theory though.

A small idea shined in her head, just as she turned around to look at the blue door she was guarding. There was one thing that she could do to qualm her thoughts, but did she dare?

She wouldn't be the first one to do such a thing, and even so she wouldn't go to the extent that her older sister had gone for her own guest, but would it be so bad if she just left for a couple of hours, just to see him? She didn't want to lose her chance of seeing him again, for she didn't know the next time he would come to the Velvet Room.

Almost as if sensing her doubts, the blue door that she had been standing on released a small light, earning a gasp from the blonde girl right before she gave the door a grateful smile, understanding the message from her Master quite clearly.

" **Thank you…"** she whispered before bowing slightly to the door, book still on her hand.

She turned around right on the spot, and slowly, but surely walked out of the alley she had found herself in.

Lavenza, once known as Caroline and Justine, walked into the busy streets of Tokyo, only one thought on her mind.

To reunite with her beloved Trickster.

 **P5P5P5P5P5P5P5P5P5P5P5P5P5**

Akira Kurusu, known also as a member of the Phantom Thieves by his close circle of friends, and more specifically as Joker, their leader, by all the other members of said group, was many things.

A high school student, even if he would attend his third year in another school away from Shujin.

A good cooker, at least when it went to curry. It was hard not to become a master of the craft when you had someone like Sojiro watching over you, which also explained why he could make at least more than just a decent cup of coffee.

He was also a former criminal, but thankfully all of that mess had been sorted out thanks to the help of Sae Niijima, so as far as he knew his record was as clean as it could get.

But most importantly, he was Joker, the leader of the Phantom Thieves of Heart, and the black-haired teen would like to think that, overall, he had been a good leader. No one had ever complained about his leading abilities after all, and even Morgana had let the front seat for him, which was a lot in his opinion.

But being such came with a lot of responsibilities, something that he had done his best to fulfill, after all not only had he looked over each member of his team as best as he could, both because of his role as their leader and because they were individuals he could proudly call his friends, but he had also made sure to gather as many allies as possible, learning skills that he was sure would be useful for the team sooner or later.

He still had more than a few regrets of course.

Not being able to do anything for Haru's father.

Not being able to stop Kamoshida before he went for one Shiho Susui.

And the whole Goro Akechi dilemma.

Some of that still left a sour taste in his mouth to this day, but Akira knew deep bottom that there had not been much he would have been able to do. It didn't mean he had to like it, but he had come to terms with that.

But even after that he would still like to think that he had been successful when leading the Phantom Thieves, and even though he hated to admit it, he didn't have another choice than to accept that a lot of that had to do with Yaldabaoth himself.

After all the mad god, under the disguise of Igor, had been the one that told him that his power would only grow as much as his bonds with others did, and Akira had taken those words to heart.

And looking back at his actions through the last year, maybe he had taken those words a bit _too_ seriously.

Now you might be wondering, how could that be a bad thing? Akira wouldn't blame you if those were your thoughts; he himself had believed that exact same thing after all.

Until this day, that is.

And what exactly could have made Joker start question the belief that he had followed for a whole year, something that not even Yaldabaoth's reveal had been able to do?

Well when you got nine text messages on Valentine's Day, all from women you knew, saying that they were coming to your place to spend the whole day with you, _that's_ when you start second guessing the decisions you have made through life.

He didn't know how long it had taken for his brain to reboot after reading those texts, but after it finally did _something_ had clicked inside his head.

Small hints that he had failed to take into account.

Propositions that he had taken as nothing but friendly jokes.

Gestures that he had assumed were only between two _very_ good friends.

It all came crushing down on him like a God Fist to the face, to the point that he just couldn't believe how he hadn't noticed it before.

No wonder Ryuji of all people kept calling him clueless from time to time.

He was sure even Yusuke would have noticed something, and that was saying something.

How in Igor's name had he survived this long when he wasn't even able to notice when one, let alone nine different girls, had feelings for him?!

A better question popped into his head though, just as Morgana's jaw hit the ground from the surprise of his sudden cursing.

How was he going to survive _today_?

 **P5P5P5P5P5P5P5P5P5P5P5P5P5**

 **You can also call this fic "When you think the harem ending has no consequences"**

 **This is pretty much the longest first chapter I've written to date. This story mostly exist for me to practice at writing nothing but sheer romance, so I went and toyed with the harem ending P5 gave us. Glad they took the more humorous route over what P4Golden did.**

 **Sorry if some of the girls sounded OoC, but the whole fic works around the idea of some of them being a lot more assertive than what they were in the game so a bit of that was a given.**

 **Future chapters will prety much be divied between one of this 3 categories:**

 **Present day ones which pretty much focus on Joker dealing with the situation he got himself into.**

 **Past days chapters which focus on one-on-one moments between Joker and the ladies of P5 which leads to the problem at hand.**

 **And finally: chapters with multiple Confidants interacting with Joker and one another at the same time.**

 **Next chap, whenever that comes out, will be exactly the second type. With what girl? Definitely someone from the party, and we'll see how that goes.**

 **Thank you for reading this far, and sorry for me probably butchering the language at some points.**

 **Next Chapter: Lovers, High Priestess, Hermit or Empress?**


	2. Lovers I

"Akira" Normal Speech

'Akechi' People's thoughts

 **"Persona"** Other being's speech

' **Velvet'** Other being's thoughts

 **Disclaimer: You know the drill, Persona and the SMT franchise belong to our lord Atlus, may Persona 1 and 2 not be ignored any longer (C'mon Atlus, P2 deserves better)**

 **In case you didn't read the AN at the end of the previous chapter, this chapter takes place before that one.**

 **Lovers I**

 **Just Your Normal Everyday of Summer**

" **Eh? Who is it this time?"** he heard the question coming from the talking cat in his bed. Definitely a combination of words he thought he would never use to describe any situation, but at this point Akira was far too used to react, even as said cat kept looking up at him with nothing but intrigue.

He could understand why though, after all Morgana probably figured out by this point that messages like the one he had gotten right now were pretty much indicators of what he would do for a chunk of the day, or rather with _who_ he would be spending said day with.

It was summer after all, and he, alongside the rest of the Phantom Thieves, found themselves with way too much free time at their hands, so it was no surprise that they often spent it with one another, with LeBlanc being their favorite hub to gather.

Yesterday it had been Yusuke the one that had come here to spend the evening. In fact it was mostly Yusuke the one that spent most of the time here among his friends, not counting Morgana of course. Not that it bothered him mind you, after all Yusuke's eccentricities definitely beat having nothing to do the whole day.

There were only so many lock picks you could do before it became tedious.

This message was from someone else though, and considering whom it was from, Akira started to second guessing himself about telling Morgana.

He knew exactly how the feline Persona-user would react, and he doubted Sojiro would be happy about it.

With a sigh leaving his lips, and knowing that he couldn't really keep this hidden from his roommate, Akira limited himself to simply show his phone to Morgana, the text clearly visible on the screen, with the cat's blue eyes moving from left to right, obviously reading said text.

And as soon as Morgana's eyes widened, Akira knew what was about to come, and reacted accordingly. The cat jumped from the bed, his intentions about going downstairs as quick as possible more than clear to the teenager, who simply picked him up by his underside before the cat even got time to hit the floor.

" **H-hey, what are you doing?! Release me, now!"** Morgana demanded with no little amount of indignation in his tone, struggling to get free from the hold his leader had on him.

"And have you running downstairs where all the clients are? I don't think Sojiro would like that very much, and we don't want him kicking you out" he answered in a firm tone, his words getting the black cat to stop struggling in his grasp almost immediately, his body going pretty much limp in the young man's arms, allowing him to put him down gently in the bed once more.

" **I wasn't going to do that…"** he heard Morgana whisper under his breath in a dejected tone, and at that moment Akira knew that it had to do more with the limitations he had because of his body rather than him stopping the cat from meeting the subject of his interests.

A flash of regret appeared on Joker's gaze, another sigh leaving his lips. One of his hands was quick to move; actually petting the cat in the head, with the only response the action got was a look from Morgana pretty much asking him if he had gone insane.

"Don't worry" he smirked slightly, stopping his actions as soon as Morgana's gaze met his "I'll be sure to bring your dear Panther up here so that you can see her" and with a quick wink he was already moving towards the stairs, feeling Morgana's blue eyes glued to his back.

" **You better!"** the last demanding cry he heard from the blue-eyed Persona user fitted him a lot more, Akira concluded.

 **P5P5P5P5P5P5P5P5P5P5P5P5P5**

"Ah, there you are!" the blonde model known as one Ann Takamaki was quick to greet him as soon as he went into the main area of the LeBlanc, with the girl sitting on her own table, a cup of hot liquid in front of her, obviously courtesy of the older man attending the rest of the clients that LeBlanc had at this hour.

"Sorry. Leaving without Morgana is not an easy task" he apologized as soon as he reached her, however she was quick to wave off his words with a gesture of her hand, her expression telling him that she understood.

He wasn't even given time to sit on the same table as her though, for just in one fast motion the blonde girl was quick to drink what little was left of her drink, just for then standing up, a rather strained smile on her face that immediately had him frowning a bit.

Had something happened with her?

"C'mon, I want to talk to you for a bit" she gestured to the door, a raised eyebrow being the response she got from her leader.

"Wouldn't it be better upstairs?" he commented with curiosity, considering how that was how he normally spent time with anyone of his friends that came here. Sometimes he even cooked for them if they were staying the night.

"Ugh, I rather not be in another cramped room today. It's summer! Besides I kind of just want to walk for a bit… if that's ok I mean" there was more to her words, Akira realized. Whatever she wanted to tell him was probably private too, and it was hard to keep a conversation secret if you had Morgana roaming around.

He turned his head around to look at the stairs leading to his room, already feeling bad about his friend upstairs. If Ann wanted to keep something between them, then there wasn't much that he could do about it. He was sure that the feline would understand, although he also realized that the gift of sushi might become necessary to avoid Morgana getting _too_ angry.

"Let's go then" he answered her with a nod, walking then towards the door, with the blue-eyed girl simply shooting him a thankful smile, moving to follow him outside.

And with their leaving, both teenagers completely missed the knowing smirk that one Sojiro Sakura had been aiming at them through their whole interaction.

 **P5P5P5P5P5P5P5P5P5P5P5P5P5**

What could have happened that had his friend so deep in thought, Akira wondered. It had become increasingly obvious that it wasn't just a small thing bothering her every since they started walking around Yongen-Jaya.

She was too deep in thought, he realized, with how her gaze was down and a frown was present on her face. He was certainly glad that there was almost no one on the narrow streets right now, or else he wasn't sure if a collision with anyone could have been avoided considering how little attention the girl has been paying to her surroundings so far.

He had to stop her from going face first into a few light poles already after all.

So he truly had to ask himself, what could have made Ann act like this? He would like to think that he was close to her than before, not only as teammates but also as friends, and with that came getting to know the popular model a lot more than he thought capable the first time he had seen her on his first day at Shujin.

So going by what he knew of her, a total of 3 conclusions appeared on his mind, each with a different chance of actually being the actual reason for Ann's obvious discomfort.

First one, and it was the most obvious one too, would be that it was something related to their mission as Phantom Thieves. While that itself would make sense, after all he too was to blame for thinking a lot about the present and future of the group, he doubted that it was the reason this time, since, simply put, there hadn't been anything mayor going on related to the Phantom Thieves, outside of the occasional request at Mementos.

The second idea he could think of was that it was somehow related to her career as a model, something that, considering how seriously the blonde had started taking her job, wouldn't be that far-fetched. Maybe it had to do with that Mika woman again?

There was also a third option, which quite honestly was the one that Akira believed was the most likely, especially when you took into account just how important _she_ was to Ann.

It didn't take long for his suspicion to be finally confirmed though, for after releasing a calming breath the girl to his side stopped walking, prompting him to do the same, and then looked up at him with uncertainty in her eyes.

"I'm worried about Shiho…" the Persona-user revealed, slightly biting her lower lip just as her gaze went down once more.

For his part the glass-wearing teenager simply nodded slowly, already knowing just how deeply the friendship between his teammate and one Shiho Suzui went, to the point that he was well aware that Ann's happiness was directly related to Shiho's wellbeing.

"Did something happen to her?" he asked, remembering that it had been months since the last time Ann had brought Shiho into one of their conversations. The young athlete had left a couple of months ago after all, and while he knew that the two friends still kept in touch, the subject of Shiho had been brought less and less between Ann and himself every since she finished her recovery.

In response Ann simply shook her head, her back now pressing against the wall behind her, her gaze still low. Akira mirrored her, hands on his pockets, waiting for the blonde to gather her words, his own eyes going from the blue sky above them to the a couple of kids that ran past them, their yells making more than obvious the fact that they were playing.

"I just…" she started, quickly earning her leader's attention "I'm worried about how she's doing in her new home, you know? I mean we talk all the time, and she tells me that she's doing fine and all, but…"

"You don't know if that's true" he finished for her, getting a nod from the blonde, her twin-tails moving up and down just as she did.

"I know she said she wouldn't do it anymore but… I'm worried she's just hiding stuff from everyone just to not make them worry…" she finished, a tense silence following her words, with both teenagers knowing exactly about what she was talking about, just the mere thought of that whole incident being enough to make Ann clench her fist tightly, while Akira's eyes narrowed a bit behind his glasses.

"What brought this on?" he asked tensely, understanding from where Ann was coming from, but also knowing that thoughts like that didn't just appear out of nowhere.

The blue-eyed model sighed again, her eyes now being filled with sadness, something that caught him by surprise. There was more into this, it seemed.

"Her birthday is coming up soon" she finally told him the reason of her sudden thoughts, her gaze now meeting his "And I really want to be there for her but… I know how impossible that is right now, and well, one thing led to another and now I'm worrying if she'll have anyone there for her besides her parents"

"That's actually why I came here, you know?" she continued, this time smiling sadly at him "I just wanted to distract myself for a while. Get this all off my chest, and do something else rather than just be caught up in my room brooding" her gaze broke from his, with her eyes now focused on the front "Sorry if you already had plans today. Must suck to have to listen to all of this"

He opened his mouth as soon as she said that, more than ready to refute her assumptions, right until an idea flashed on his mind, a certain place that she could certainly use right now, if at least just to push those thoughts away even if it was just for a little while.

Without warning he grabbed her hand, his legs dragging the two across the streets, while he ignored the surprised sound the girl behind him was making.

"W-wait, Akira, what are you doing?" she questioned, more surprised than anything else, not knowing what to think of her friend's sudden action.

Her heart suddenly skipped a beat though, for right over his shoulder he flashed her a reassuring smile, while even going as far as to squeeze the hand he was holding.

"You say you wanted to distract yourself, right? Well I know just the place"

She didn't even have the strength to tell him just how weird that line sounded coming from someone like him.

 **P5P5P5P5P5P5P5P5P5P5P5P5P5**

"Take _this_!" she yelled with vigor, her arms moving in an arc, steel rod in her hands, and the sound of metal hitting something following right after it, the result being a hand-sized white ball hitting the other side of the fence with incredible strength.

"She sure has the spirit, that's for sure" the grumpy old man that owned the ball-pit said in a gruff tone, cigarette on his hand, watching as the blonde model kept hitting each ball that came on her way, alongside the black-haired teen that kept coming to his establishment. Not like there were any more clients anyway, and this beat being behind the counter doing nothing but reading magazines.

"I think she might even break your record, you runt" he continued with a grin, just as Ann managed to hit a pretty nasty ball, almost getting a Home-Run out of it.

"You're the one that has to give her the prizes, not me though" the Persona-user answered with a small smile of his own, his eyes also focused on the young woman, his smile becoming just a bit wider as soon as he heard the man to his side muttering about cheeky brats before going back to his work station.

He watched as the blonde kept going for almost 5 more minutes before the machine that kept throwing her the balls finally stopped, making the girl leave the cell she had been, the bat and helmet she had been using before now off to the, while a bit of sweat went down her forehead.

"Feeling better?" he asked, greeting her with a smile, one that she was able to return between puffs of breath, for her sudden activity had left her just a bit out of breath.

Nothing compared to fighting Shadows in the Metaverse of course.

"A bit, yeah" she answered while moving to stand beside him, her chest raising and falling just as she wavered her hand on the side of her face to refresh herself a bit.

"Here" he offered her a small bottle of water, which she was quick to accept, muttering up thankful words before taking a sip of it, enjoying the cold liquid going down her throat.

"I didn't even know there was a place like this around" she said, her blue eyes looking around with no small amounts of wonder, just to then land once again on her leader "You come here often?"

"From time to time, normally when I'm bored and my overlord Mona lets me out of the dungeon after making enough lock picks to satisfy him" he responded in such a serious tone that Ann wasn't able to stop herself from giggling at the picture her fellow Persona-user had put in her mind.

"Oh c'mon, he's not that bad"

"For someone that hates being a cat I'm more than sure that he's just one argument away from start using his claws on Ryuji, and I don't want him practicing on me first, thank you very much" he had to control himself from shuddering at that one, even as Ann just kept laughing. Sure, it might sound like a joke, but Morgana had been giving his paws some really scary looks lately.

"Oh? Is our fearless leader scared of a little kitty?" she shot back with a teasing smile, one he was able to return in kind.

"I'll have you know it is not fear, but respect"

He would have to warn the other blonde of the team soon enough, although knowing him it would do little to stop the unavoidable incident.

The two students fell on a comfortable silence soon after that, simply enjoying each other's company. For Ann her thoughts went around how she had made the right decision today. She should have known that confiding something like this to Akira would help her somehow, after all it had been him the one that had bothered to listen to her every time something related to Shiho or her own dreams ended up getting stuck in her head.

She blushed a bit, remembering the day she asked him to throw insults at her as a way to strengthen her heart. Looking back at it now, that had been silly, hadn't it? And yet he had gone along with it somehow, although she now had to question the quality of the _insults_ he had thrown.

She was quite sure 'Beautiful' didn't count as one.

She was just glad that she had at least someone that she could trust with things like this. Normally it was something she always did with Shiho, but it was hard to do so when said girl was miles away and when the subject that had you troubled was, well, that same girl.

Sure, there were the other members of the Phantom Thieves, but if Ann had to be honest the ones she felt the closest on with had to be her leader that was to her side, and Ryuji.

And there was no way in hell she was going to go to Ryuji for something like _this_. She did talk to her fellow blonde about stuff of course. It just so happened that those stuff were mostly related to their mutual leader.

For his part the leader of the Phantom Thieves was also deep in thoughts, thinking of a way to help the blonde on his side. Distracting her with something was hardly a solution after all, but for the life of him he just couldn't think of anything to do, outside of actually going to see Shiho of course, and just like Ann had said that had become incredibly difficult.

There was only one thing that he could think of doing right now, and it was something that he was sure Ann would be doing even if he didn't bring it up. She was just that type of person after all, one that cared deeply for her friends, almost to a fault.

Besides it wasn't only for her that he wanted to do this. He also wanted to do something, even as minuscule as it was, for one Shiho Suzui. The fact that he hadn't been able to stop Kamoshida quick enough to prevent him from doing his last crime, even if he hadn't know better at the time, was something that was still eating him on the inside.

It would only be a small gesture, but it would be at least a start, Joker decided.

"Let's buy a gift for Suzui-san's birthday" his words were enough to catch Ann by surprise, something that was more than obvious with the shocked look she was giving him "Together, I mean. Even if we really can't see her we can at least send her something"

The surprised expression on her face stayed like that for a few seconds, her blue eyes meeting his grey ones for what seemed like an eternity, with no words leaving either of the two, at least, until she smiled, and it was the smile that Akira always wanted to see on her face, one of sincere happiness and nothing else.

"It's a date then!" she said with enthusiasm, her eyes shining, the sheer emotion she showed being enough to get him to smile back, although as soon as she caught her slip of the tongue her smile was gone, instead replaced by a slightly nervous stutter.

His smile turned into a smirk, one that sent a small shudder right into Ann's spine. It was the same he sported whenever he was facing a defeated Shadow after all.

"A date with a model of such renown? I feel honored" his exaggerated response simply got him a slap on his shoulder from the slightly blushing blonde, although it did little to affect the twinkle of amusement that was dancing on his grey eyes.

What was a date between friends anyway? She was sure acting weird for something so simple.

'Friends, huh?' Joker thought, watching as Ann suddenly got ready to take another shot at the cage 'Why do I feel like I'm forgetting something…?'

 **P5P5P5P5P5P5P5P5P5P5P5P5P5**

" **I hope you're ready to accept your punishment"** there had been neither preamble nor warning for him. No, he had simply returned to his room at LeBlanc after accompanying Ann to the train station, just to get nothing but a cold gaze from certain feline Persona-user, who looked like he hadn't moved even an inch from where Akira had left him earlier in the day.

And the black-haired student didn't even try to argue his way out of this. Instead he simply nodded solemnly, slowly taking his glasses off and putting them on top of the T.V in the room, his gaze never leaving Morgana's, knowing how much of a mistake that would be.

"I am" he said with resolution and a nod, gritting his teeth for what was about to come.

And then a black blur jumped straight at his face.

Next day it became increasingly difficult to explain to Sojiro the screams that he had heard upstairs, and it was even harder to explain to the members of the Phantom Thieves, who had decided to gather at LeBlanc for a small meeting before heading up to Mementos, just why his whole face was filled to the brim with scratches.

Then again, the laughing fit that Ann had as soon as she saw him made it worth it in his books.

 **P5P5P5P5P5P5P5P5P5P5P5P5P5**

 **Well that was quick considering how much I updates my other stories. This chapter is just so some understand how this fic will go, with moments between Joker and the ladies of the game (not always just one though) between the chapters following the plot of the prologue, since like I said this is me practicing with romance.**

 **And I have no idea when Shiho's BD is so let's just roll it for now. I don't know if she has an official one and if she does, well… AU?**

 **Next one is another moment like this and then we're back at Valentine's Day, so if that's what you want to read the most you won't have to wait for long.**

 **Thank you all for reading this far, the favs/follows and the reviews. This little idea got far more support than I thought capable. Once again sorry for any mistakes this chapter probably has.**

 **Next Chapter: Priestess**


	3. Priestess I

"Akira" Normal Speech

'Akechi' People's thoughts

 **"Persona"** Other being's speech

' **Velvet'** Other being's thoughts

 **Disclaimer: You know the drill, Persona and the SMT franchise belong to our lord Atlus, may SMT for the Switch be as successful as P5.**

 **Priestess I**

 **Proving Your Charm**

She couldn't move, her whole body acting completely unresponsive to her, almost as if all of her muscles had been chained, something that she knew was impossible, after all the only part of her body that was being held by something was her left hand, which was in the grasp of a bigger, warmer hand, his fingers almost locking themselves between hers.

She tried to control her erratic breathing, but it felt impossible right now, with the air in her lungs leaving her in short, ragged breaths, her own mixing with his, for they were close, _far_ too close than what she could ever remember being with someone else.

She tried to control her shaking legs, fears of falling to her knees appearing in her mind, but it was too hard with nothing but nervousness and embarrassment coursing through her body.

She attempted to avert her gaze, but her red orbs refused to move even an inch, almost as if a spell had been casted over her that stopped her from breaking eye contact with his grey eyes.

How did it end like this? She had certainly never believed her day would end up in a scenario like this, much less with who she was sharing the Student Council office.

She still remembers his invitation earlier in the day, something that had filled her with curiosity. Not that it was strange for him to seek her out mind you, but this time it had felt different. Or rather, _he_ had felt different, only that she couldn't grasp just exactly what the difference itself was.

She knew what he wanted to talk to her about, or at least she thought she knew. She still remembers asking him for his help after all, for she needed someone to help her in matter of one of her newest friends and her strange, older boyfriend.

And who better than the young man that she trusted with leading her and the rest of their team through the unknown of the Metaverse? Who else rather than the friend that was helping her to come out of her shell and experience things that she had never been able to before?

Well, not like she could really complain for that last one part in this situation, after all she most certainly never experienced something like _this_.

She could barely even remember how they had gotten into this situation. He had just asked for a bit of her time to discuss how he would help her with the whole Eiko situation, and of course she had no problems with giving him said time.

They both knew the solution already though. She simply needed someone to play the role of her fake boyfriend so that Eiko wouldn't suspect anything in the double date she had suggested. Sounded a bit simple if not just weird, but the real problem relied on the fact that they had to fool Eiko in the first place.

And for all the things Makoto felt proud about, acting as if she was in a relationship was not exactly one of them, so she needed someone not only able to actually do that, but so good in what he did that not even Eiko would be able to complain about her likes in men.

Considering those factors finding a candidate became almost impossible, for she also needed to trust this person after all. A glimpse of hope had appeared in front of her though, for just a couple of weeks after voicing her concerns to her leader he had apparently come to a solution, which was why she had brought him to the Student Council room.

And that's when all of this mess had started. She could barely even make sense of the first minutes with how dizzy her head felt right now, but if she did remember something quite clearly it was the look he gave her.

It wasn't the same regular, a bit of stoic look he mostly sported, or the cocky, confident one he always wore in the Metaverse. No, this had been something else, more powerful even, one that she had never seen being aimed at herself.

It would be later that she wound find out just what had filled his gaze that day.

Passion.

Makoto wasn't used to compliments. Of course she had gotten her fair share of praise over her studies or work as Student Council President, but those were more about what she did rather than for what she was. She did remember a few students calling her cute back in her second year, but she had always passed those as nothing but mere jokes, or as boys just thinking that anything with a skirt was cute.

So it was no surprise that the sweet words that her black-haired underclassmen had whispered into her ear had done a tad bit more than just surprise her. She didn't know what factor it had been, If the words itself, the feeling of his hot breath on her earlobe or just the blazing eyes that were piercing right through her, she just knew that it was enough to paralyze her, make her heart beat faster than it had ever done so before and have her sport her strongest blush up to date.

It didn't help that he then had moved to grab her left hand with his own, while his other one was firmly pressed against the wall right besides her face, and considering how she herself was back to the wall it pretty much stopped any attempts at escaping that she could have had.

Then again, she doubted that she would have been able to actually avoid him even if she had tried, because even for all the screams her brain was releasing, telling her that this was improper, a small, almost forgotten part of her found it quite to her liking.

The attention she was receiving was something she never thought would be aimed at her. He was looking at her as if she was some sort of goddess, something that he couldn't live without, and the tone of his voice reflected that almost perfectly in the husky way he whispered into her ear, with his thumb moving in circles over the back of her hand.

"Makoto…" he whispered, no, he _purred_ her name, his right hand moving from the wall closer to her face right until it made contact with her cheek in an almost tender caress that had the one known as Queen in pretty much an overdrive of emotions.

A part of her knew though, that if this was any one else she would just have pushed them off by now, or if they got too insistent she would have shown them just how good she was at Aikido.

But this wasn't just some random guy she didn't know. No, this was _him_ , and in him she could trust, and if the butterflies she felt in her stomach whenever they talked had been enough to make feel slightly anxious, then the raging inferno she was now feeling was truly going to melt her in his arms.

"Makoto" he called to her once more, his gaze half-lidded, something that she ended up mirroring. She could also feel it now, the way their faces were slowly moving closer to one another while his hand still cupped her right cheek.

"Akira-kun…" she whispered his name too, in a tone she could have never imagined she would use. Her eyes were completely closed at that point, knowing what would come, and not finding it displeasing. She had to wonder though; could he hear the way her heart was hammering against her chest in both nervousness and anticipation?

Her emotional side had completely overridden her logical one at that point. This was truly a new experience for her after all, one that not only did she want to, but that she _knew_ would enjoy.

Or at least, she might have, if her lips had met something other than just air.

"So, you think it will work now?" and only now she was realizing that the warm feeling on both her cheek and left hand had disappeared, her own eyes slowly fluttering open at the hearing the normal, friendly tone that she had been far more used to hear from one Akira Kurusu, who now just found himself away from her, his body resting on the table in the middle of the room, looking at her with such an innocent gaze that almost made her wonder if everything that had just happened had been nothing but a dream.

"W-what?" she reproached herself mentally for just how perplexed she sounded, simply not knowing what else to say or do right now.

"You know, with your friend" he continued, almost as if it was obvious "You told me that you needed someone good enough to impress her, so I went and studied some stuff about it and I wanted to show it to you, that's why I have been rather busy past weeks. You think I can help you with that now?"

Just studying might not be the best way to put what he had done, but the details were something that he rather just keep for himself. It would certainly be better in his head if no one knew just how much time he had spent reading that weird book that he had found in Booktown, or how many tips he had gotten from certain reporter.

Then again, Ohya had looked more than happy to be his instructor, so he was sure that he had been doing something right.

And if the older woman was to be believed then, judging by just how flushed Makoto still looked he had nailed those teachings perfectly. He would prefer if she said something though, rather than just stare at him as if he had gone insane for some reason.

Maybe he had gone a bit too far? He just honestly didn't know a better way to prove his newfound expertise to the brunette, although he was more than ready to apologize if he had to.

And a part of her had to admit, Makoto was more than a little touched that he had gone that far just to help her even if he hadn't been obliged to do so, but a bigger part of her just found herself utterly _frustrated_.

With what, she didn't know, but she just did and she _hated_ it.

She opened her mouth to say something, but she was interrupted by a light tune coming from her leader's pocket. The young man was quick to take his phone out of it, apparently inspecting whatever kind of message he had gotten and nodding twice before looking at her once more in the eyes.

"Sorry, I have to go" he said with a bit of urgency, moving to grab his bag from the table, and then towards the door of the room, his gaze falling back to hers right before he left.

"Tell me whenever you need help with this" he said with a small smile, his gaze becoming a bit more serious then "And if that wasn't enough then… Give me another week and I'll get better, I promise"

And with those words he was gone, leaving the still blushing Makoto to look at the door he had just used with a lost gaze, still not knowing how to react, what to say or even think.

She moved a hand over her chest in a vain attempt to calm her raging heart, while deep breaths started leaving her. She had not been prepared for that, she truly hadn't. It was now that she was starting to understand just how devious her leader could be, even if he wasn't aware of it.

Her other hand moved towards her lips, slightly touching them. Then again she wasn't sure what had been more shocking to her, if what Akira had just done or the fact that she almost went along with it.

The fact that a feeling of disappointment was now washing over her didn't help her in the slightness. What was wrong with her?!

Then her mind finally processed what he had just said, her red eyes widening at the sudden thought, her cheeks once again in flames. She ended up moving both of her hands over her face in an attempt to hide her embarrassment.

Getting better? She hoped not, for she doubted she would be able to survive that any time soon.

 **P5P5P5P5P5P5P5P5P5P5P5P5P5**

 **I know, that was a short chapter, and I promise both next one and the next Makoto chapter will be longer so don't worry Makoto fans.**

 **This chapter was just a small moment that happens during Makoto's Confidant. Not many chapters will be** _ **during**_ **their Confidants, since most will be moments after those events already happened, but this idea stuck too much in my head to just ignore it.**

 **Once again, thank you for reading this far. This story has gotten a lot more support than I thought capable, and for that I'm grateful you all seem to be liking it so far.**

 **Next Chapter: Back to the present.**


	4. Last Day II

"Akira" Normal Speech

'Akechi' People's thoughts

 **"Persona"** Other being's speech

' **Velvet'** Other being's thoughts

 **Disclaimer: You know the drill, Persona and the SMT franchise belong to our lord Atlus, may P5 The Animation be the adaptation that the game deserves.**

 **Last Day II**

 **Resolution**

From one extreme of the room to the other he moved, his legs pacing him around the attic almost as if such an action would fix his current…issue.

Hand under his chin and gaze low, he tried to think. Think of something, _anything_ that could help him right now.

Then he suddenly stopped. Help him with _what_ exactly? By all means and terms this wasn't a situation that could use a conventional solution. For starters he hadn't even known he had been caught up in such a thing until around 5 minutes ago.

Then there was the sheer absurdity of the whole thing. He almost grabbed his phone once again and re-read all the messages just to make sure he hadn't made a mistake.

Nope, there was no mistake and this most certainly was not a dream, he had pinched himself in the cheek long enough to prove that by now.

Even so he still needed to think of something to do. Looking at it as objectively he could do, there were a few obvious choices.

He could always run and hide somewhere. He was sure that Ryuji wouldn't have any problem with letting him stay the day in his house, and it sounded easy in theory; however the whole idea was shot down as soon as it came to his head. No, there was no way he could do such a thing for not only was that as scummy as it could get, but he just couldn't do that to any of his friends.

His friends, he thought with a wry smile, or to be more precise his lady friends. To be quite honest he had never thought of them in a romantic light, but that had a lot more to do with how he had been feeling at the moment rather than in his relationship with them.

They were all special in their own right; he knew that as a fact. With some he had fought back to back with them against creatures of nightmares while others had helped him in more ways they probably thought possible.

Anyone would be lucky to be with them, he firmly believed, but at the time such a relationship had been the last thing in his mind. Between his duties as leader, school, probation and simply gathering allies the young man had barely any time to think of such stuff.

Not that he could use any of those as excuses at this point of course; he knew that, which also meant having to start thinking of them in a completely different light than before.

This of course was a bit hard to do when time wasn't on your side.

Unless he was over thinking stuff and was confusing how they felt about him of course. Maybe they just wanted to spend the day as friends? The messages weren't particularly romantic in the first place anyway, and what were the odds that they _all_ felt like that towards him anyway?

He suddenly shook his head. No, it was that kind of naïve thinking that had put him in this mess in the first place. All the signs had been there, and he had just been too blind to notice it, but not any longer.

To take responsibility for his actions. Those words had been engraved in him for a long time now, and it looked like he would be following that mentality once more, although in a way he could have never predicted.

" **Wait, just what's going on?!"** ah right, he almost forgot Morgana was still in the room with him with how silent the Persona-user had been until now, although apparently he had already gotten over his momentary stupor and was now looking straight up at him with what he believed was a frown.

He opened his mouth to answer, for he knew that if there was something he needed right now it was advice, and when it came to those he was sure Morgana would at least tell him something helpful. There was also Sojiro of course, but with how Futaba was involved he doubted asking the older man would be such a good idea.

However he closed his mouth as soon as he remembered the fact that Ann was too a part of it, and for just a second he could feel the pain of a million scratches over his face. Sure, the feline had gotten better when it came to his feelings for the blonde, but even so Akira could not risk it, not when he was losing precious time by the second.

"Nothing, just…" his mind moved a mile per second to think of an excuse. Lying to Morgana was not as easy as one would think, after all not only was the cat quite perceptive, but Akira knew that when it came to the cat he was almost an open book with how familiar the two of them were with one another.

There was only one idea that _might_ fool him, and to use it the black-haired young man silently apologized to one of the two blondes of the team for throwing him under the bus.

"Got a message from Ryuji. Told me he didn't want to spend today alone and that he was going to confess to Ann to see if it worked" it was a terrible lie, he knew, but it had the two factors that he also knew would make Morgana far too angry to think about it properly.

First there was Ann, and then there was Ryuji, and when you added the two in something like what he had said you had a very angry and jealous black cat in front of you.

" **What?!"** Mona pretty much screeched to the point that he found himself almost cringing with how loud the cat had been. How did he manage to look so utterly enraged, he didn't know, but he was sure cats weren't able to make such an expression **"That little…!"**

He would really have to find a way to make it up to the blonde after this.

And in another part of Tokyo said blonde found himself with a chill going down his spine. Why was he suddenly having second thoughts about visiting LeBlanc?

But back as said LeBlanc, Akira watched as a seething Morgana suddenly ran downstairs almost as if his life depended on it. For what purpose Joker wasn't sure, but he wasn't going to stop him considering there weren't any clients here right now.

He also needed to make his own move as quick as possible though. He wasn't kidding when he said he didn't have time, after all while he was sure plenty of the girls would take a while to get here, there were two that he knew he close already, _far_ too close.

Futaba and Tae.

He grabbed his jacket swiftly, knowing that if he would have to face someone first it would end up being one of those two. Ideas were forming in his head, but they all came to the same end.

He had to face them all, he knew. That was the only way he could do this properly. It wouldn't be easy of course, and so far he had no idea about what he would even say to them but hearing what each one of them had to tell him was the least he could do, even if he was feeling a lot more apprehensive about it than what he was used to by now when thinking of them.

He moved to follow Morgana downstairs, knowing that if he left right now he could catch Tae at her clinic before she got here. Then he would come back and talk properly to Futaba. It wasn't the best of the ideas he ever had, but it was the best he could come up to in such a short notice.

It was at least a start too, and a lot better than just ignoring them in his opinion.

He was more than ready to go down, but something caught his gaze from the corner of his eyes, something that made him smile softly. While almost one year ago it had been nothing but an empty, dusty shelf, now that place was filled to the brim with little trinkets that he had gotten over the months living under this roof.

And maybe for some they were just that, trinkets and small gifts that had no real worth, but for him they were so much more. From Hifumi's Knight piece and Ann's fountain to Futaba's hero figure and Haru's giant spatula, all of the objects there told him that one way or another, he hadn't spent the whole year alone as he thought he would the first time he had set a foot inside LeBlanc.

And for that he could only be thankful to all of them.

Yes, he would face them all properly, not only because it was the right thing to do in his book, but also because they deserved it.

Then again, in his head they deserved so much more.

 **P5P5P5P5P5P5P5P5P5P5P5P5P5**

Alright, now he was more than sure that Yaldabaoth had somehow cursed him before dying and was laughing at his despair from wherever gods went after dying.

He should have known that his plan _just_ wouldn't work, but even so how was he supposed to take something like _this_ into account, or rather, _her_.

The only thing he was able to do was to stare, his grey orbs fixed at a pair of golden ones that were watching him with intensity, a gentle smile present on her lips just as she lowered the black cat that she had been holding on her arms, who almost looked like he was pouting at the sudden lost of contact.

He followed her with his eyes as she moved closer to him, inch by inch, while the big book she always carried with her now resting on one of the tables, right besides Morgana.

Her smile grew a bit wider with each step she gave right until she was in front of him, her lower stature forcing him to look down, but even so he wasn't able to stop himself from smiling back at her, for even if her presence was a bit problematic right now, there was no way he could ignore her, not after everything they had gone together.

He truly owed her his life after all.

" **Hello, my dear Trickster"** she said in the sweet tone that he had come to relate to her every since they had met, her golden eyes shining with nothing but happiness as they looked up to the her guest, the man that, just as a part of her had foretold, had saved the souls of mankind.

"Lavenza…" he whispered her name, not understanding how she had even gotten here, and while used to her presence, he also didn't know just what to do in a situation like this. He might be in a hurry, but he simply wasn't able to ignore the golden-haired girl in front of him.

Then again, if he had been just surprised by her being here before, then he went into shocked mode by her next actions.

She suddenly hugged him as tightly as she could, her arms encircling his waist just as the left side of her face came to be pressed into his mid-section, her eyes closed and nothing but a content expression present on her face.

And for a few seconds Akira was simply left not knowing what to do once again, definitely not used to such an open show of affection. Heck, even Morgana looked more than a bit surprised from his position, but just as the surprise slowly left him he moved his arms, with one hand ending on top of her head while the other in her back, doing his best to reciprocate the gesture.

And if the content sigh that left her lips soon after that wasn't prove enough that he had done good then he didn't know what else would be.

And it was in moments like this that Lavenza finally understood one thing. Years ago she had wondered about her older sister's actions, after all deciding to abandon the Velvet Room and their Master just for one single human, guest or not, had been something simply absurd and unthinkable at that moment.

But now? Now that just seeing him smiling at her had been enough to make her want to do something just to show him how happy she was with him? Now Lavenza understood just why one of her older sisters had abandoned everything just for one person, while the other didn't even try to hide just how fond she was of her own guest.

Some people simply became that precious to you, as simple as that, and it was something that Lavenza could finally understand now. Her only true regret was not being able to spend that much time with her Trickster in her true form, but the memories she had obtained through Caroline and Justine were something that she would treasure for all eternity.

She just hoped she would be able to make so many more in the future.

Sadly such moments were bound to end sooner or later, even if the sudden sound of a bell, result of the main door of Leblanc being opened, did little to stop Lavenza from continuing her hug.

What it did do though, was to send a wave of nervousness right through Akira, whose gaze then moved slowly from the petit frame of Lavenza to the door with a smile frozen in place that hid just how utterly not ready he was for what was about to come.

"What…?" his grey eyes first met the ones of Sojiro Sakura, who was looking at the whole scene with no small amount of surprise if the raised eyebrow he was sporting was indication of anything. It wasn't him that had him worried though, it was the one right beside him that was affecting him.

His eyes moved slowly once more, only that this time lower from Sojiro's eyes, right into the mauve eyes of the orange-haired member of the Phantom Thieves, for some known as Oracle, for others even Medjed at one point, but for most she was simply known as Futaba Sakura.

And while looking at her normally filled Akira with nothing but pride for how far the girl had gone every since they met, alongside strong feelings of protectiveness, now his gaze held nothing but worry, both because of the conversation he knew they would be having, and because he didn't know how she would take the sight in front of her.

At least she hadn't screamed or anything, not that he expected such from her anyway, nut you never knew and this still was unheard territory for him. She simply stood there almost frozen in place, her eyes behind her glasses as wide as they could be, with even her mouth hanging open.

He would have told her that she would catch flies like that in any other moment, but even he knew when it wasn't the time to make jokes.

"Hey, who's your friend there?" it was Sojiro the one that spoke with a frown of puzzlement, not remembering every seeing his charge with a girl like that. His gaze went from the duo back to his daughter in all but blood, knowing how such a sight of two people hugging could create unnecessary assumptions in a situation like this.

"She's a…friend?" not knowing what else to say, the Wild Card answered, then sensing how Lavenza was moving in his grasp, forcing him to look down at her once more.

Turns out she was now looking up at him, her golden eyes meeting his own gaze only that instead of a smile there was now a frown in her face, almost looking like a pout in his opinion.

His eyes caught Futaba once more though, for it looked like the girl's brain had finally done rebooting itself. She was now trying to say something, or at least that's how it looked in his eyes, although the only thing that escaped her mouth was some sort of weird combination between a squeak and a choking sound that he had never heard before.

And just like that, Plan A had burned to the ground before it even had the time to start, and Joker just knew that it would only get harder from here on.

Time for Plan B it seemed; now he only needed to think of one.

" **Wait, what am I missing here?"** and then there was Morgana.

Ignorance was truly bliss, wasn't it?

 **P5P5P5P5P5P5P5P5P5P5P5P5P5**

 **Longer than the previous one but shorter that the other two, I know, however if I want to be able to give each girl enough time with their individuals chapter then I'll have to either make Present chapters short like this one or put a lot more moments between Joker and the girls between said chapters.**

 **And this chapter ended up being mostly about Joker's mentality regarding the problem, alongside his first contact with a couple of the girls.**

 **Next chapters I will probably either continue with the party members in the order I've followed so far (meaning Futaba and then Haru) or do Futaba and change things up a bit and moving Haru for later (I don't want to do that to the cinnamon bun though)**

 **Once again thank you for reading this far, alongside the favs/follows and specially those reviews. Glad to know you are all enjoying the idea.**

 **Next Chapter: Hermit**


	5. Hermit I

"Akira" Normal Speech

'Akechi' People's thoughts

 **"Persona"** Other being's speech

' **Velvet'** Other being's thoughts

 **Disclaimer: You know the drill, Persona and the SMT franchise belong to our lord Atlus, may PQ2 try to not make the characters into one walking joke after another.**

 **Hermit I**

 **Fear of Losing**

She growled with a fierce look in her eyes, the light of the T.V flashing on her glasses while her fingers pressed on the buttons of her controller as fast as possible, her mind focused on nothing but the game currently in front of her.

So focused she was that she didn't even notice nor really cared when she started moving her body to match the movements of the car in the screen. It wasn't something that would particularly embarrass her anyway, but considering the look she was receiving from the young man sitting on the chair besides her own it was something that she would rather stop doing if she had known, just for the sake of avoiding the teasing that she knew would follow.

She had more important things to take care of right now though. She was so close, so close to finally beat not only the game, but beat _him_. She had studied, she had practiced and she had gotten more than ready to beat him on his own game.

She was going to take this boss down no matter what, and just as the look on her face started to morph into a victorious grin…

"What?!" her side of the screen flashed with defeat, announcing how she had gotten in second place at the race.

She didn't even have to see his side of the screen to know that a big number one was plastered all over it, or look at his face to know that he was currently sporting quite the smirk.

She could _feel_ that smirk.

"There's no way ,no uh, impossible!" she said as she suddenly got up from her chair, wood scrapping against the floor because of her sudden movement, a look of frustration more than obvious on her features to the point that she was even gritting her teeth "You're cheating! You must be cheating; no one can be _this_ good!"

She looked straight at his eyes from his sitting position since her height allowed it so, and just like she expected there he was, controller resting on his lap and that insufferable little smirk on his lips. She could even see the twinkle in his eyes and all, proving even more just how much he was enjoying this.

"I have no idea what you're talking about, my dear Oracle" her glare just became even more intense. Oh no, he was not going to give her that attitude of his! However almost as if reading her thoughts he suddenly fixed his glasses making them somehow shine for just a second "You should learn to accept defeat"

Squashing the sudden sense of curiosity that demanded her to ask him just how he had done that with his glasses, the orange-haired girl rushed behind her leader, old controller already forgotten, and jumped straight into his bed almost face first, a small 'ohmph' sound leaving her as sound as she made impact with the mattress.

While for his part Joker simply chuckled a bit at the reaction, already far too used to how she could react when it came to losing in a game against him, although he had to wonder if she was ok with throwing herself face first with glasses on.

Turning off the old game system the black haired teen move to his bed, a small smile present on his lips as Futaba seemingly decided to ignore him, with her legs dangling off the mattress lazily while her arms hid her face from the world.

"Alright Futaba, I'm sorry…" he said with honesty right before taking a seat beside the downed girl, his eyes still focused on her, waiting to see how long would she ignore him like that.

It wasn't fair, the orange-haired girl thought, it just wasn't. Futaba felt proud about many things. Her ability when it came to hacking, the specific characteristics of her Persona that allowed her to help her team at any time and even her intelligence, however one other thing that she had been proud about was her skills when it came to videogames.

It came when you locked yourself up in your room every hour of everyday. You still needed to do something to kill time, and for her besides checking on stuff online it had been things like videogames the one that had taken plenty of her time.

And she was _good_ at them, or so she liked to believe. Sure, she didn't actually play against other people before joining the Phantom Thieves, but she was more than sure that she wasn't half-bad.

But now, every time she came to play with her Key Item it always ended with her pride taking blow after blow like there was no tomorrow! First it had been at old fighting games and then plataformers, but the older teen always managed to beat her somehow, even when she was sure that she had him against the ropes.

But finally she had found her Holy Grail. An old racing game that she had played before, and in which she knew she would _just_ beat Akira once and for all. She had even played it to the point of knowing every curve by memory, so her confidence had been as up as it could be.

Of course she wasn't going to pull of any tricks. She wanted her ultimate victory over her Key Item to be a clean one, so she had given him the game a couple of days before challenging him so that he could get used to it first, believing that it would make little to no difference in the grand scheme of things.

And yet he had ended up beating her.

 _Again_.

All her hard work had been for nothing it seemed, and for such a thing to happen to her at this point could only mean one thing.

"You know!" she said as she suddenly raised her face, aiming a pointed look at Akira, who barely could hide his amusement at the almost-pout she was displaying "I was going to give you something cool today, but cheaters don't deserve it!"

And then she went back to stuffing her face in the bed, simply getting a roll of eyes from the Wild Card, only one way of getting out of this situation appearing in his mind.

"Alright" he started, watching at how the youngest member of the Phantom Thieves would react "How about I take you to Akihabara to make it up to you?"

And as soon as his words left his mouth Akira was sure that if Futaba had been a cat like Morgana her ears would have stood straight, for there was no denying that his words had earned her attention with the way her body suddenly tensed.

Now to go for the kill.

"I'll even buy you anything you want" he finished, watching how slowly, but surely, the girl raised her head to look at him once more, mauve eyes meeting grey for just one second before she spoke.

"Really…?" she asked with uncertainty, a light frown still present on her face while her question simply got a nod of response from her leader.

"Of course, consider it a gift for everything you did. I wouldn't have gotten out of that hole without your help after all" he said in a soft tone, and then added almost as if remembering something "You'll have to wait until I can leave this place though"

Ah right, hearing her Key Item mention that stuff made her remember just exactly why she had insisted on spending almost the entire day with him.

It had been less than a week since their plan to fool one Goro Akechi had worked, and in the process they had even gained a powerful ally in the form of Sae Niijima. Even so it didn't change the fact that for the plan to work her Key Item had to pretty much fake his death.

And not only had it been quite the hard thing to pull off, but now he couldn't even leave his room because of that! You never knew who was watching after all, and the last thing they wanted was for their whole work to go to waste just because someone actually managed to recognize Akira on the streets.

Right now he needed to lay low, something that everyone of the team had understood and also something that Akira himself was more than ready to accept.

This was why she had come to spend time with him. She knew that the rest of the Phantom Thieves would love to do it too, but they all still had duties with their school alongside other things, so their ability to come to LeBlanc was kind of limited, especially when they didn't want to raise suspicion from anyone that might be watching.

That left the duty of watching over their leader to both her and Morgana, and while she knew that Mona alone was more than able to do so, there was no way she would let Akira die of boredom while he was locked up here if she could help it!

There was another reason too though, but she would prefer to not think much about that at the moment.

Speaking of said cat, she had taken over his role of giving Akira some company and apparently the small Persona-user had taken over that chance to stretch his legs a bit, considering that he had gone on a walk for a while now.

She ended up pretending that she was mulling over his words, almost as if considering if it was a worthy reward or not, even though her mind had been settled the moment he had said Akihabara. A chance to spend time with her Key Item, alone, and get some stuff she wanted?

"Alright, deal!" she said with enthusiasm and grin on her face, her previous demeanor completely forgotten. She jumped out of the bed almost as quick as she had gotten in it, her legs carrying her over to a small bag that she had previously left close to the stairs.

Of course Akira had noticed it as soon as she had gotten up here, but he had decided to not comment on it knowing that the younger girl would explain it sooner or later.

Although he had to admit that a gift was the last kind of thing he expected from it.

He watched over from the bed as the orange-haired girl seemed to grab something from the bag, said something actually being a long, moderated sized box. He looked at her with a raised eyebrow as she walked closer to him with a grin right until she reached the foot of the bed.

"Here, it's for you" she declared as she presented the gift to him, a proud smile on her face just as he took it from her hands, his grey eyes going from her to the box in his hand "C'mon I promise it won't blow up or anything"

He nodded and proceeded to open one of the extremes of the box while his fingers then grasped on whatever was inside. He pulled it out, noticing how long it was until it was completely out of the box and now resting on his lap, the object itself giving him a confused expression.

"A laptop?" he said with wonder, definitely not expecting something like this. Wasn't this supposed to be expensive?

"Yep, and don't worry, it's the old one I used before making my current one" she said with a resolute nod and raised hand with her finger now pointing at him "You should feel proud, not everyone can boast about having the laptop that the original Medjed used!"

"Thank you…" he whispered, his eyes now glued to the black piece of technology resting on his lap. Honestly if Futaba hadn't just told him that he would have assumed that the thing was brand new with how it looked, and the girl was willing to give it to him just like that? Coming from her it said a lot, he was more than sure of that.

"No prob. Besides you kind of need something to do while you're trapped here, and retro games can only take you so far" her eyes then went to his working table, a sudden look of disgust appearing on her features "And I can't be related to someone that uses such a piece of junk like _that_ one"

"Hey, I repaired it myself" he shot back to the girl, feeling a bit possessive over the old laptop resting on his working station. Sure it wasn't the best, but considering it didn't even work at first he would say that by now it wasn't that bad.

"And I'm sure you did your best" she drawled out, a hand coming to her face to fix her glasses "But somehow it only lets you access to _one_ site, and I'm not even sure about how legal that one is!"

"Tanaka is not that bad though…" he whispered, knowing that her words were true but feeling like he had to defend the shady man for some reason. Something just told him that the man wasn't as bad as he looked.

"Whatever lets you sleep at night" she concluded before climbing onto the bed once more, and coming to sit right beside him, their shoulders touching just as Akira kept his gaze onto his new laptop while Futaba had his own gaze glued to the bed itself "Besides…"

Hearing that low tone that almost sounded like a whisper brought the Wild Card's attention back to the navigator of his team, a slight frown on his face, by this point knowing when something was upsetting the younger girl.

"Just…consider it a welcome back gift after everything that you went through" she pretty much whispered, and as soon as she said that Akira already knew what she was talking about, his frown becoming deeper as soon as the subject appeared.

"Futaba…" he whispered, the air around them becoming as tense as it could get.

The operation to fool Akechi had not been an easy one. It had depended on a lot more variants that any solid plan should have, from him being able to convince Sae to Akechi himself not noticing that he had entered the Metaverse, the plan had a lot of risks to it, more so than anything Akira felt comfortable actually applying.

But it was for that same reason that he had volunteered to do so. There were plenty of other factors that made apparent that he would be the only one capable of actually accomplishing such a dangerous task, but even if any of his other team members could have done so he still would have taken the bullet.

There was no way he would let _any_ of them in an empty room with just Akechi.

However the fact remained that the plan had been extremely daunting, and said plan could not have been achievable without Futaba's help, of that he was more than sure.

When it came to actually planning it then the credit went to mostly Morgana and Futaba. Makoto had helped a lot too of course, after all her sister was involved, but all of the technical aspects had been mostly brought on thanks to Futaba to the point that Akira knew she had been the second key part of the whole thing, only second to himself.

And it was for that reason that he guessed Futaba still felt some sort of guilt about it.

He could still remember the horrified looks everyone had given to him once he had set foot into the LeBlanc alongside Sae. The bruises on his face had been more than evident after all, alongside the marks off the handcuffs in his wrists, and that was ignoring just how beat he felt.

Heck, he still sported those wounds, and even if Futaba tried to act it off Akira wasn't one to not notice how she pretty much flinched every time she looked at his wrists or at his bruises for too long.

She felt guilty for coming up with the plan that had messed him up so much, he knew now. He could still remember the look she had given to him that day. While everyone had looked horrified and angry beyond belief, Futaba had looked scared.

The youngest member of the Phantom Thieves really liked to blame herself for stuff that she had no control over. It was something that even after accepting her own Shadow still affected the young girl.

This wasn't even the first time she had done something like this after all.

The girl seemed to retract herself under his gaze, with her knees coming close to her chest while her arms went around them. As soon as he saw that Akira was quick to put the laptop down on the bed and with a swift movement he put his arm around the girl's shoulders, bringing her closer in an attempt of a hug.

He felt her tense for a moment in his arms before finally relaxing, although he could hear the deep breaths she was trying to take from his position.

"I was really worried, you know?" she spoke once more "I knew you would be alright, I mean it _is_ you we're talking about after all, but even so I, no, _we_ were all worried sick, and when you came looking like that it didn't help much"

"This wasn't yours or anyone's fault" he said in a tone that left no room for argument, actually getting the girl to raise her head and look at him to the face, the beginning of tears forming in the corner of her eyes "It was a necessary thing, and believe me it looked worse than what it actually felt like"

The girl had come to make sure he didn't go insane by being trapped inside, but deep down Futaba knew that she had come here more to calm herself than anything else. She had already lost someone dear to her once, and just the thought of losing Sojiro, Akira or anyone from the Phantom Thieves was enough to give her nightmares.

The hand that was on her shoulder suddenly moved almost as if sensing her thoughts, and it ended up landing on the top of her head, with small movements following it closely. If that one action hadn't been enough to make her blush, then the smile he suddenly aimed at her sure did the job.

It was not fair that he could make her all nervous and fluttery just with an action when she couldn't even beat him at a videogame!

"Hey, want to know a secret?" he whispered, his face coming closer to hers, making her already red face feel even hotter somehow, to the point that she wasn't sure how she wasn't releasing steam from her ears something.

She was still extremely weak to things like that, and when it came to her Key Item she somehow felt both more comfortable _and_ nervous. How could someone do that in the first place?!

It didn't help that she then felt his breath right on her ear to the point that she had to control herself from jumping out of his hold just out of sheer embarrassment.

Then again, his next words certainly made her react.

"I did cheat on that racing game"

The sight that greeted both Sojiro and Morgana once they went up to see what the ruckus on the attic was certainly left a mark on their memories. It wasn't all days that you saw such a small girl like Futaba chasing around someone like Akira through the whole room, with the girl's expression looking ready to kill while the only thing on Akira's face was a smirk.

 **P5P5P5P5P5P5P5P5P5P5P5P5P5**

'Check the first folder on the desk as soon as you turn on the laptop, that's an order!'

Such message was the one displayed on his phone, courtesy of Futaba herself of course. It was already kind of late and he knew that he should be asleep by now, but even so curiosity had taken the best of him, so as soon as he had gotten that text he had gone to try and find the thing.

Funnily enough the password had been Phantom Thieves. He couldn't hide the snort that had escaped him once he figured that one out.

'First folder, huh?' he thought as his eyes went over the screen on the laptop, ignoring the massive Phantom Thieves logos covering most of it. He hoped it wasn't anything particularly loud, or else he would have Morgana on his case.

His eyes finally landed on said folder, the name itself simply getting a raised eyebrow from the Wild Card, who couldn't help but be intrigued by the name of it.

"Jojo's Bizarre Adventure…?" he read as he opened the folder, not knowing the kind of adventure that he was about to get sucked in.

 **P5P5P5P5P5P5P5P5P5P5P5P5P5**

 **I'm so sorry, I just couldn't help but add that last part. I promise no more references like that.**

 **I'll admit Futaba is a hard one for me to write about without just turning her into a walking meme, so I apologize already to any Futaba fan if I messed this up too much, I'll try better next time.**

 **Next one is Haru without a doubt. I don't know with what order I'll go with the rest of the girls, but I can assure that I will do at least two (not counting Haru's) moments before doing a Present chapter.**

 **Thank you all once again for reading this far, and thank you for the support to this story in the form of favs/follows and reviews.**

 **Next Chapter: Empress**


	6. Empress I

"Akira" Normal Speech

'Akechi' People's thoughts

 **"Persona"** Other being's speech

' **Velvet'** Other being's thoughts

 **Disclaimer: You know the drill; Persona and the SMT franchise belong to our lord Atlus.**

 **Empress I**

 **Thinking of the Future**

You never knew what tomorrow would bring.

Those were words that ringed deeply in both of their hearts.

For him that had nothing but a normal and mundane, almost to the point of boring life suddenly twisted completely by accusations of a crime that he didn't commit, being sent away from his home and then fighting back to back with others to try and fix the mistakes society had inflicted on others like them.

For her whose future looked nothing but bleak and out of her control, like a nightmare that she just couldn't wake up from to suddenly gain the freedom she had yearned for so long but at the cost of the last family she had.

Yes, at this point they knew that you never knew what the next day would bring, or if it would be good or bad. They had ended up focusing on the present, which considering everything happening around them it didn't sound like such a bad idea.

But she was different from him, that he knew. She had told him after all, of her dream for the future. To follow in on her grandfather's legacy and to atone for her father's sins, to do her best to put the Okumura name back in what she believed was the right way, no matter how hard it could be.

And such determination was something he couldn't help but admire. He didn't know what drove him to awe even more, if such a pure dream or the heartwarming girl that had made it her goal to accomplish it.

He just knew one thing, and that was that she _would_ obtain her goals. It wasn't just his desire for her success talking neither, no, something inside of him simply told him that one way or another Haru's dream would become a reality, and if he could do so in any way he would help her as much as he could.

But maybe that was the key difference between them. Maybe that was why her sudden question left him with nothing but wandering and uncertain thoughts. Why suddenly he couldn't move and had his eyes lost in the horizon, lips parted but no word escaping them almost as if he had run out of them.

And he was sure that she hadn't meant to leave him in his current state for such an idea was beyond preposterous, but her words had struck him deep inside, and now he couldn't help but to wonder about her question.

For she had a dream to obtain far beyond their duties as Phantom Thieves, something to chase in the years to come.

 _What do you want to do in the future, Akira-kun?_

And how could he answer her when he himself was not even close of having something like that?

Because for all the things that kept being pushed inside his mind, his own future was definitely not one of them, at least not the far one. His mind was always taken over by most immediate thoughts, from strategies to discuss with Makoto to simply where he would be going with Ann on the weekend, to even what type of Persona he would obtain in the Velvet Room to the deadline that always appeared during an operation.

All important thoughts in his opinions, but it had left little to no room for anything else.

But even so, he hated the fact that such a simple question asked out of nothing but sheer innocent interest had left him in such a frozen state. Not only because he shouldn't have let it affect him so much, but also because he knew he wouldn't be able to hide his sudden shift from her.

Because if there was something that he knew would never escape Haru's sight, it was the moment something started troubling someone she knew. He had come to accept such a fact too in the days since she had met her.

"I'm sorry…" he heard her whisper with a frown present on her face, one that in his opinion had no place being there, her brown eyes looking from his own grey ones back to the small garden in front of her "I shouldn't have intruded so much…"

"No!" he declared almost immediately, her tone being enough to take him out of his thoughts, their gaze meeting once more "I just… I guess I never really thought of that…"

The silence that followed was one that he hated having with any of his friends, especially when he was the one responsible of causing it. He honestly didn't know what else to say, but he knew that he had to say something. Haru hadn't invited him to check over her garden just for him to sour the mood after all.

And he was about to say something, even if it ended up just being a lame comment in the hope of cutting the tension around them, but he was stopped as his eyes watched her get up from her crouching position, and then walk silently towards the wall besides the door that led to here, the top of their school.

His gaze followed her as she suddenly sat on that same wall with her back to it, and then started patting the space to her right with a small, inviting smile present on her lips.

He frowned at the gesture but he ended up simply nodding numbly, his legs dragging him towards her. He sat down on the space she had presented for him, with one of his knees slightly raised while his arm rested on said knee, his gaze focused on the still growing vegetables that had taken over the rooftop.

It was another silence that befell on the two, and while before it had been something that he had wanted to break no matter what now he felt like it was the calm before a storm. He sat there in silence, waiting for some sort of signal from the older girl by his side, which quite honestly didn't take that long.

"Why not?" she asked in a soft tone, and he didn't have to turn to know that she was looking at him right now.

It was another simple question of course. Why not? Why hadn't he ever given some thought to what he would do once he finished highschool? An excuse he had used for a while had been that he was simply too young and that he still had time to figure it out, but he knew that such an answer was mostly him just wanting to avoid the subject.

Maybe saying that he had never thought about it was not exactly truth, however those thoughts always ended being just as generic as they could get. Graduate from highschool, get to college, graduate there, find a job, start a family and etc.

Those were just the guidelines that he had learned from his parents, and for someone that never thought much about the future it sounded good enough.

At least, until one Masayoshi Shido had decided to strip him away from even that before it even had a chance to start.

He wasn't a fool; he knew that if before he simply didn't know what to do in the future now he simply didn't have _any_ future to think much about. He had a record now and that made him a criminal in the eyes of society. It didn't matter if he was actually innocent; school had showed him that much already.

"I don't know…" he answered once again, his own voice being as controlled as he could make it so "I just never thought much about it before, well, _everything_ " they both understood perfectly what he was referring to there.

"And now?" he continued with a sardonic smirk "Not like there's much to think now, is there?"

"Maybe something can still be done" she said after taking his words for a few seconds "After we steal his heart maybe even Sae-san can help you with this"

"Maybe…" he nodded a bit at her words, but even if they were genuine to him it sounded hollow. He had a whole year to accept the fact that this would just be his life from now on. He wasn't one to be pessimist, but for him it was a simple fact, something that he had made peace with a long time ago "Who knows?"

He knew that such an attitude shouldn't be present in someone like him. He could already hear Morgana chastising him for it, but old habits died hard it seemed.

It was their third silence in less than half an hour, Akira noted. He sure was being a bad company today, wasn't he? Deciding that enough was enough with the depressive atmosphere the Wild Card was more than ready to simply reassure the brunette to his side that he was fine with it, but it was her voice the one that sounded first in the almost empty rooftop.

"Akira-kun" she said, her voice somehow both firm and yet gentle, a complete contradiction if he knew any "Look at me"

And he did so, his gaze moving slowly to match that of her teammate, his grey eyes once again meeting warm brown, and what greeted him was, to put it simple, a smile.

But it was the smile that always found a way to make him lose his cool. He didn't know how Haru did it, but whenever that tender expression was aimed at him it was as if the sun itself was trying to warm him up.

"Could you do me a favor, Akira-kun?" it wasn't only her smile and her eyes, but even her voice was filled with nothing but care to the point that Akira could only nod silently "Please close your eyes"

A frown of confusion was his reaction at the request but it only made Haru's smile somehow even bigger. Knowing that he could trust the older girl with his life, the leader of the Phantom Thieves was quick to follow the request, his eyes closing slowly behind his glasses.

Not that said glassed lasted long in his face mind you, for the next thing he felt was the girl slowly removing said article from his face making his frown even more pronounced, something that apparently made her giggle a bit considering the sound he heard soon after.

But then he felt both of her hands reaching for his head in a gentle touch and he could feel the palms of her hands on his hair, guiding him somewhere.

And he couldn't exactly explain how, but the next thing he knew was that he was now laying face up with something soft resting below his head, keeping it from meeting the floor of the rooftop.

He wouldn't voice it out loud, but it was surprisingly comfortable.

"You can open your eyes now" he heard her say and so he did, and ever so slowly the light of the morning sun once again filled his gaze, however it was the sight above him that truly caught his attention.

He only now came to understand that he was resting on her lap just as she smiled down at him in that gentle manner he was so use to seeing from her. Something that was completely new though, was the fact that her brown eyes were hidden behind his own glasses, for apparently the brunette had decided to wear them for him.

"I remember when I didn't believe I would be able to choose how I lived my life…" the girl whispered softly as her hands moved caringly through his black hair in such a motion that left Akira sure that if he didn't pay attention he would end up falling asleep.

"But there is always a light at the end of the tunnel, don you think?" she said with honesty and conviction, her gaze going from his eyes to the blue sky although her hands didn't stop moving through his black locks.

And for her it had been the Phantom Thieves that had become that light. First Morgana who showed her a way to turn her father in the honorable man she knew he once was, and then the rest of the team that accepted her with open arms even after all the trouble she had caused to them.

Her relationship with the Phantom Thieves, her friendship with Makoto and of course, the moments she had spent right at this very same place with the young man on her lap were things that she never thought she would have.

And now she couldn't even begin to imagine how her life could have been without all of those, and even as the pain of her father's death still stung deeply in her heart, she now knew that she wouldn't have to face anything like that alone ever again.

And that was a lot more that she ever thought she would gain when she found a stray black cat on the streets.

While for his part Joker simply mulled over her words, never expecting for her initial question to end up becoming such a statement. He understood from where Haru was coming from, and after hearing her said that he couldn't help but to feel glad that she had such a positive look on the future.

And if someone deserved for such a happy future, then it was definitely her, he believed without a second thought.

"Please don't forget than you have us all with you" she said shortly after, and he perfectly understood who she was referring to. It was one of the things that he had found solace in throughout the year, knowing that even if things went south for him he still had his friends and team with him.

And then she suddenly giggled slightly, catching him by surprise. She even moved her free hand towards her lips almost as if she was trying to hide her smile.

And then she was back at looking down with half-lidded eyes alongside a smile, only that this time something was different. He couldn't exactly pin-point what exactly it was about it, but he just knew that the smile she was offering to him was completely different from the ones before.

"Besides…" she said as she tilted her head in a movement that Akira could only describe as adorable. It didn't help that her fluffy hair mirrored her movements perfectly "Even if no one else takes Akira-kun he will always have a place by my side…"

His eyes widened slightly at her sudden declaration for he never expected such a thing to escape her lips, although it was made more than obvious that he wasn't the only affected by the words, for just after saying it a slight pink hue appeared on Haru's cheeks and she even went as far to look to the other side in obvious embarrassment.

But that didn't stop her it seemed, for not even a second later she was back at locking gazes with him, her blush becoming even more pronounced but no doubts appearing on her brown eyes.

"I know my grandfather would have loved to have someone like you working with him, Akira-kun…" she said with a firm nod, her features becoming softer right after that "And… I think I would love that too…"

Surprised grey met determine brown for what seemed like eternity, almost as if Haru was trying to convince him of her words just by looking straight at his soul but to be honest she didn't have to go that far, for as far as he was concerned just hearing it coming from her lips made it as truth and honest as it could get.

And he tried to control himself after that, he truly did, but he wasn't able to avoid it as soon as it began. The small, almost inaudible chuckle that escaped his lips threatened to become a full-blown laugh just a few seconds later, his reactions obviously surprising the one known as Noir, right until that surprise became nothing but a pout and a mock-glare.

"You're being mean, Akira-kun!" she reproached him "I was being completely serious there…"

It was only then that he stopped laughing although he wasn't able to hide the grin that had made itself present on his lips. It was his turn to surprise her though, for he suddenly raised his arm, his fingers then slightly touching the ends of her hair, his action getting quite the surprised reaction from the flustered girl who almost yelped in surprise.

"I know you were, Haru" he whispered, his grin becoming a grateful smile that just helped to make the older Persona-user even more self-conscious "And thank you for that… I really mean it"

And even as he saw her eyes widen in surprise too he still wanted to say something more just to tell her how much those words had meant to him. He honestly didn't know what to say properly even when he wanted. In the end nothing but a simple statement appeared on his head and even if he believed it wasn't enough it was the least he could say.

"Haru…?" he called to her as he tried to take her out of her embarrassed state, although maybe the fact he still had his fingers slightly touching her curls didn't help much.

At least she was able to look at him now once again, and he had to admit that those glasses definitely suited her a lot more than it did him.

"You're too nice" it was a simple thing to say, nothing that he would consider especially fancy or charming, but for him it was just the truth of who Haru Okumura, his teammate and friend, was.

The kind smile she gave him at hearing his words ended up soothing whatever worry he had at that one moment.

And suddenly the future didn't look so scary anymore.

 **P5P5P5P5P5P5P5P5P5P5P5P5P5**

 **Well I had 3 chapters with Joker helping the girls so I tried to do the opposite with this one. I have to admit writing Haru might be difficult with how little time the game gives you between finishing her Confidant and the end of the game but I'll try to make it work somehow.**

 **And with this the Phantom Thieves ladies all had their little moment. Not to say they won't have more in the future, there is a reason I keep putting numbers on the title after all, but now it's time for the non-party members Confidants to shine. Who is next? Well either I'll follow the order I went with so far or I'll go straight at Hifumi, but we'll see.**

 **Also someone left a request on the reviews and while I would prefer to use PMs it is a guest review so I guess this will do. What you suggest is something I would like to write so it is something you might see here in the future but I can't give exact chapter for something like that.**

 **This story reached 100 followers already, and for that I thank you all for reading this fic. I hope you liked this one too.**

 **Next Chapter: Star or Death**


	7. Death I

"Akira" Normal Speech

'Akechi' People's thoughts

 **"Persona"** Other being's speech

' **Velvet'** Other being's thoughts

 **Disclaimer: You know the drill; Persona and the SMT franchise belong to our lord Atlus.**

 **Death I**

 **Troublesome Patient**

Tae Takemi would like to think of herself as a patient woman.

She wasn't one to get angry easily. Annoyed? Sure, and she had no trouble showing it, but outright angry? Almost never, and most of the times that it did happen it was normally aimed at herself.

However her profession pretty much made it so that learning to deal with troublesome people became almost a necessity.

Even ignoring all the troubles that being a back-alley doctor could bring just the fact that the title of 'The Plague' had been attached to her name pretty much made it obligatory that she would have to deal with troublesome situations from time to time.

And while she knew very well how to handle those, she wouldn't have survived dealing with the man that had framed her otherwise after all, there were still more than a few things that were enough to simply make her scowl in anger.

And said scowl was currently being aimed at the young man sitting in front of her inside the private consulting room of her clinic. Said young man had his gaze glued to the floor, his expression showing nothing at all, something that just ticked the dark blue-haired woman off even more.

Did he really think she was stupid or something? She didn't know if to feel offended if he really thought she was just going to ignore something like _this_ , specially with all the things that the news channel have been saying as of late.

"Well…" she said as she stood up, the sound of her heels clicking on the floor being the only thing in the room as she walked to put the file in the table close to her "The bruises will take a time to heal but luckily nothing seems to be broken" her tone was completely professional, something that they both knew was not something that she used to do between them.

"Be sure to take those pills" she was of course taking of the medicament that the teen was holding on his hand "They will help with the pain, and I wouldn't move much if I were you unless you want your leg to hurt like hell"

And he just nodded mutedly at those words with his gaze still focused on the clean floor below him. Of course he knew that coming here would mean more than a few issues and in all honesty it hadn't been his idea in the first place, but his friends had insisted on him having to see _someone_ about his wounds, even if the danger of leaving LeBlanc so soon after the event was a big one.

He let a small sigh escape his lips as he remembered just how he had tried to convince them that he was fine and that there was no reason to take such a high risk, but he guessed flinching as soon as anyone touched him wasn't the best way to go around convincing people.

He just hoped nothing bad came out of coming here. Sure the place was the closest one to LeBlanc, and to be honest right now he honestly couldn't trust anyone else but _her_ when it came to something like this, although that didn't stop Morgana from watching over the clinic from the outside.

Then again, he had the feeling that the real danger was going to come from _inside_ the clinic, or to be more precise, from the woman that had just ended checking him over.

It was the sound of heels what he heard once again, and he knew that his fears became a reality once he also heard the distinctive click of the door of the room being locked from the inside, and it certainly didn't take a genius to figure out just who had done that.

He ended up gulping without really thinking about it for he knew what would come and that the result would most likely not be a pretty one.

"So…" the overly-friendly tone he could hear coming from the doctor did little to reassure him. He knew a trap when he saw one after all "Care to explain what could have happened to you that left you in this estate?"

He kept his gaze low for just a second more before slowly raising his head, his silver eyes finally meeting the brown ones of Tae, who was regarding him with a raised eyebrow, her face devoid of any emotion while her arms were crossed below her chest and her back resting on the closed door.

Mind you he had known that coming like this looking as if he had been beaten by a bunch of thugs, which would actually be kind of the truth, would end up in some sort of questioning from the back-alley doctor, but that didn't mean he had to like it.

Of course, and while he didn't like doing it so to someone like Tae, his first instinct was to outright lie. To tell her anything else than what actually happened, after all telling people that he had escaped police custody was the last thing he wanted to do, even if he trusted that person.

He didn't want to drag her, or anyone he knew for that matter, into the mess that he and his team now found themselves in. Akechi was still out there after all, and it was only a matter of time before he and everyone else involved realized that he wasn't actually dead.

And then who knew what they might be capable of doing, and even if they weren't able to target him or other member of the Phantom Thieves directly he didn't doubt that if Akechi found another way to strike he would do it so.

His fist clenched tightly at the thought. Yes, Tae might know that he was a member of the Phantom Thieves but he refused to drag her deeper into this battle.

He opened his mouth to tell her and even thinking as far to come up with an excuse to leave as soon as possible, but his words died in his throat when Tae's expression quickly transformed into a glare.

"And don't even think of coming up with an 'I fell down from some stairs' excuse, dear _assistant_ of mine" she beat him to the punch with her words, which she followed by removing what looked like a remote controller from the pocket of her lab-coat "Or do you think I don't watch the news?"

And with the click of a button Akira found himself looking at a news channel on the T.V, which of course just so happened to be talking about the apparent suicide of the captured leader of the Phantom Thieves earlier in the week.

"Imagine my surprise when I turn on the T.V and that's the first thing that comes up" she says with her hands now back on the pockets of her coat "Suffice to say it wasn't the best way to start the day"

That in all honesty was quite the understatement. Hearing news like that just a couple of days ago had honestly made her heart run cold at the possibilities. Of course she had figured out just with who her Guinea Pig worked with, but it's not like she actually knew what kind of role he had in the group that had taken Tokyo like a storm.

So hearing that their leader had not only been arrested, but that he had then committed suicide? The moment she had heard that her heart had pretty much stopped with wild thoughts swarming her head by the second, but one main question stood out from every other.

Was it him?

Of course the first thing she had tried to do was to contact him, but he answered none of her calls let alone her messages. She had even tried reaching the LeBlanc, which was the place she knew he lived in, but it had not been open the times she had gone to check.

She had been barely able to work on anything because of her doubts, her mind thinking of the worst possible outcome. Luckily it had been a couple of slow days and no one came to her clinic or else they would have probably seen her version of a panic attack.

And then he actually came to her clinic, looking as if he had owned money to a Yakuza and the guy had then decided to collect it in a different way, and then asked her if she could check him over really quick.

 _What the hell?_

She hadn't know if to feel relieved and happy now that she knew that he was in fact alive, or frustrated and angry because he acted as if she was just supposed to just ignore it as if nothing was happening.

Maybe before she would have done so, back when she was just a disgraced back-alley doctor and him just a kid willing to be used as a test subject just for special medicine, but now?

Maybe he had rubbed off too much on her with how much he liked to meddle with other people's business, not that she disliked that part of him mind you, but there was no way she was going to let him just walk away without at least an answer.

"And here you are, looking like quite the mess to be honest" she continued, her gaze never leaving him "So, care to explain? Don't worry, we have time"

A sigh left his lips as soon as he heard her while his right hand came up to scratch the back of his head. Of course he knew Tae wasn't just going to let him off that easily. The older woman could be pretty laid-back, that he knew for sure, but when something was caught on her head it was extremely difficult to stop her.

"I…" he started, trying to figure out how to not make her any angrier. The easiest thing would of course be to just tell her the truth, but that was simply out of the question. Outright lying wouldn't work either since the woman was just too good at reading people "Some…complicated stuff happened"

"Hmm…" she nodded at his words, already pretty much knowing what he was probably referring to "I guess it has to do with your… part-time _job_?"

"Something like that…" he responded, his hand moving from his hair to the bruises on his face, flinching slightly at the touch "Things became a little bit problematic but… I'm fine now, really"

"No you're not" she rebutted him while walking closer to him "Just answer me this: Were they talking about you on the news?"

She ended up standing closer to him, her eyes looking down at him while he easily matched her stare, hard looks on both of their expressions.

It lasted like that for a few seconds but it came to an end once Akira broke the staring contest first, his gaze now glued to the T.V just as his voice came in an almost inaudible whisper "Yes…"

And nothing but a shaky breath was what left Tae at hearing his confirmation, her right hand then moving up to massage her temple for she could already feel the incoming headache.

Of course she should have guessed that something like being a Phantom Thieve was not something exactly safe. Just the fact that the police were looking for them made that more than obvious, but this was the first time she had ever seen him in a state like this, and combining that with the fact that the police and news department were clamoring about his death, even though he was very well alive in front of her, just told her that things had become even more complicated for her young assistant.

She ended up simply taking a seat right beside him, her legs crossed over one another as nothing but the sound of the television filled the room while both residents apparently tried to come to terms with their thoughts.

It ended up being her the one that broke the silence this time.

"And let me guess, you can't tell me anything else because it's a secret?" she said, already knowing what the answer was going to be, after all it wasn't like it was him who told her that he was a Phantom Thieve, she had found out about it on her own after all.

"It's for your own good…" he told her, and she knew that he was now looking at him "I'm sorry for keeping things from you after you helped me but…"

"Don't" she stopped him, her gaze falling once again into his "I…understand, I think. I mean believe me, I really want to know and all but…" with her lips parted she kept looking at his eyes, burning curiosity in the front of her mind but another, more simpler fact also making itself present. Pretty much the only reason she wasn't demanding a clear answer and why she still decided to associate herself with him.

"I trust you" she said with as much sincerity as she could muster "I don't know what you're going through right now. Would I like if you told me? Sure, but it must be something serious with how everyone is in an uproar so I don't mind waiting until you're able to tell me…" and then she closed her eyes, the dark thoughts that had plagued her once again appearing "Just… be sure to be as safe as possible alright? I better not see you with any other wounds from now on"

And he just nodded at her, glad that she understood his position. Tae had been the first one to discover that he was a Phantom Thieve after all; something that had left him more than a little bit nervous at the time, but knowing that she trusted him such just reassured him even more that he could in fact trust her back.

"I won't be able to come here for a while" he spoke once again, getting her to open her eyes and look at him seriously just as he moved his gaze to the side "I need to keep a low-profile for now, and the last thing you need is someone associating this place with me" and the black-haired teen would have talked some more if it wasn't for the finger that suddenly poked him right on the ribs, getting him to jump slightly and forcing him to look at the once again glaring doctor.

"I don't think so" she told him in a serious tone "I understand wanting to keep a low-profile and all, however…" she then did something that Akira could not have seen coming and grabbed him by the chin, her fingers touching his face and making sure to not touch any wounds while also forcing him to look straight at her face "If you even so much get a paper-cut you better get here as soon as possible. I won't have you busting your pretty little face again just because you're being paranoid"

"Besides" her scowl then turned into a small smile just as she let go of his face, her hand the moving to tap his cheek just while a bit of fondness made its way into her eyes "I remember telling you something similar before and yet you kept coming and pestering me, so just consider this a payback. I can't lose my favorite test subject anyway"

Her smiling face just met his surprised one until he sighed once again while shaking his head, his own expression also turning into a small, resigned smile.

"Favorite? Should I be glad to have that honor or worried about any others you might be hiding from me?" he commented with a smirk, knowing that the days in which she used to simply embarrass him were long gone. He could now go toe to toe with the playful doctor, and after everything that had happened in the last few days it didn't sound like such a bad idea.

"Oh? I didn't know you were the jealous type" she said with a smile on her own just as she stood up, honestly missing talking to him like this. Sure, she was still more than a little worried about him, but she trusted him to keep himself not only as safe as he could be but also to come to come to her if anything happened "But don't worry, I don't really have the time for any others anyway, so you're my one and only my little assistant"

Alright so maybe he wasn't completely ready to deal with Tae. He didn't know if it was just her words of the half-lidded look she was giving him but just a bit of embarrassment ended up appearing inside of him. Not that he showed it on the outside mind you, that would be like a prey showing weakness to a hunter.

The dark blue-haired woman walked towards the door and was quick to open it, showing the younger teen that he was free of her prison "Low-key for a while now, right? You better leave before anyone else comes"

He nodded at her right before he got up and pocketed the pills he had on his hands, his legs then taking him towards the door just as he pulled up his hood to hide his face from the world.

Then again he was stopped by a hand with red fingernails as soon as he got close, courtesy of the doctor holding the door, who was once again looking at him with a serious face.

"I really meant it before, my door is always open for you, wanted criminal or not" she said, earning a nod and a grateful smile in response, however if Akira thought that was all then he was wrong for her expression quickly turned into a scowl.

"And you should _really_ think about answering your phone from time to time. You don't want to anger the wrong people after all" his eyes widened slightly at her words before a look of grimace appeared on his face, which he followed by a nod, not even bothering with coming up with an excuse for that one.

Not his fault that Futaba wanted to make sure that everyone's phones were as untraceable as they could get. He really needed to get his own back as soon as possible.

 **P5P5P5P5P5P5P5P5P5P5P5P5P5**

It was another grim expression that appeared on his face on the day that Futaba handed him his phone back. He was glad of getting the device back of course, however it had not been a pretty sight every since he had regained it.

His eyes focused on the piece of technology that lied on his bed just as it kept releasing a sound and vibrating every couple of seconds thanks to the dozens of messages and missed calls it was now getting.

And if the perturbed look he was receiving from Morgana wasn't enough then his own instinct were pretty much screaming at him that he had more than a few messages to send and explanations to give.

Why did he have the feeling than just sending a text was not going to be enough?

 **P5P5P5P5P5P5P5P5P5P5P5P5P5**

 **Another post-fake death moment, although I promise next one won't be after or about that event.**

 **Also for anyone wanting moments with more than just one Confidant, or even all the members of the Phantom Thieves, those will most certainly come. First one will be with just two (Ann and Makoto for example) and we will go from there. Can't say when those will come but I will first do a individual one for each girl before doing those.**

 **And yes Lavenza will have her moments too with her Trickster. It will be a tad tricky for her since, well, I don't think Joker really interacted with her much in the game but I'll see what I can do, the Velvet Room does give tons of freedom anyway.**

 **I don't think I did Tae enough justice with this one so I apologize to every fan of her.**

 **Thank you all for reading this far and for your follows/favs and the reviews, I love reading those.**

 **Next Chapter: Temperance**


	8. Temperance I

"Akira" Normal Speech

'Akechi' People's thoughts

 **"Persona"** Other being's speech

' **Velvet'** Other being's thoughts

 **Disclaimer: You know the drill; Persona and the SMT franchise belong to our lord Atlus.**

 **Temperance I**

 **A Helping Hand**

"Is he really going to be like this every time I do this?" she honestly had to ask him about that while a frown appeared on her face. Of course she had no real problems with pet cats mind you, but the way this one was looking at her was certainly starting to make her feel slightly nervous.

It was almost as if he was judging her every movement, and they way he mewed constantly while she worked didn't help at all.

"He's… not good with strangers" the response that she got from her student did little to help her "And the… _cat_ he likes hasn't been very receptive of his advances so he's not in the best of moods"

She had to admit that was the first time she ever heard someone talking about their cat being upset simply because it couldn't get laid.

Then again the angry hiss she heard behind her just proved her own little theory about her student somehow being able to communicate with his cat even more, and the fact that said cat was now sporting quite the glare, if she could even call that face a glaring one, just cemented it even more so in her head.

At least she didn't have the black kitty observing her so much now since apparently he had decided to not stay around after hearing those words, and with the cat going downstairs that simply left the two of them alone in the room.

A comfortable silence, not really strange for the two, ended up falling among the pair, with the only sound that could be heard being the one of small clicks of metal against metal, among other related sounds that quite honestly should not belong in the room of a teenager.

And if you were to ask her own personal opinion then she had to admit that she could have never thought she would end up doing this kind of thing as part of her part-time job, let alone alongside one of her own students.

Sure, the whole maid thing at this point was mostly just something out of preference since she didn't really work in that agency anymore, but considering the fact that her being in a maid outfit, alone in the night in one of her student's rooms was somehow the _least_ weird thing she was doing at the moment, one Sadayo Kawakami still found it surprising just the things she was willing to do for the young man to her side.

Her eyes narrowed towards the small, bronze-like objects in her hands almost as if she was inspecting it. She had to admit it had been a rough start a few months back, but thanks to his instructions at this point she could make something as simple as a lockpick pretty much with her eyes blindfolded.

Not that lockpicks were the only thing she ever helped him make though, although she definitely preferred making those, since at least those were, well, _normal_. The rest of the items she sometime had to make under his instructions were just a bit too…eccentric for her.

She could only imagine what in God's name her student was actually doing with bombs of all things, and a part of her knew perfectly that this was just the kind of behavior that she was supposed to report to some sort of authority about it.

Of course that boat had sailed a long time ago, and if she had any problem with helping a member of the infamous Phantom Thieves then she would have stopped herself from associating with the raven-haired youth to her side months ago, but not only was it kind of late by now, but she even found herself not really worrying about such things.

It came with trusting him, she guessed, and that was honestly the least she could do to him.

She moved her hand to put the lockpick alongside the pile with the rest they had made today, only for said hand to suddenly meet another, bigger hand, of course belonging to the owner of said room, who apparently had also decided to put his own finished creation with the rest at that exact moment.

And had he been just a regular teenager a part of Sadayo would like to believe that he would be at least a bit flushed right now. She knew how teenagers could be at this age, her job let her see stuff like that pretty much daily after all, but whatever reaction she might have expected from him just didn't happen. Instead he simply drew his hand back and moved to ensemble another weird tool almost instantly.

A sigh escaped her lips soon after that while one of her hands moved towards her hair, her gaze going between the arrangement of recently crafted objects to the teen currently trying to make more while her mind trying to decipher the current enigma that was her student.

Something was off after all, that much she could easily tell. There were plenty of reasons for her conclusion, among them being the fact that this was the first time they had ever worked with stuff like this until this kind of hour. Normally she would have left by now, but her student had requested more of her time by saying that he needed her help.

And how could she say no to such a request?

That wasn't all though, for he was always acting different even if it was kind of subtle. She was already far used to the calm exterior he showed around, and considering he had been willing to keep calling her when she worked as a maid she couldn't deny that he had more guts than other kids her age, but after spending so much time with him she simply started detecting things.

Like how utterly tense he was at this very moment.

Now him being tense wasn't new, God knew she had witnessed that plenty of times already, but it was different now. There was just this air of trepidation around him that told her something was off.

And others might call her out for sticking her nose in other people's business, but not only was he her student, although by now she was sure their relationship was more than just that, but she was practically an accomplice of him by this point.

You could call it curiosity but she was outright worried about him, and she not only knew how to find out a bit about what was wrong but also to help him relax a bit.

"Alright then" she suddenly said just as she stretched her limbs, her arms going above her head while a smile made itself present on her face "I think we should take a small break"

At first she even believed that he hadn't heard her with the way he simply kept working by himself to the point that she openly frowned at him.

"Feel free to rest if you need to, sensei. Sorry for keeping you here until this late" however he made it certain that he heard her by speaking, although his hands kept working almost as if nothing happened around him.

Suffice to say that his comment didn't set well with her, making her smile turn into a small scowl. She was then quick to stand up from the chair, her long skirt fluttering with her movements.

She then moved to stand right behind his chair while her eyes were still fixed on the top of his head. He still seemed to not react at all though, but she was having none of that tonight.

He was forced to stop once he felt his sensei's hand firmly planted on his shoulders with the action itself being enough to get him to look up at the older woman with a frown of his own plastered on his face.

"I wasn't _asking_ you, Akira-kun" she said with a small glare "I can't in good faith let you run yourself ragged in my presence, _especially_ when you have classes tomorrow" he honestly almost forgot about that small tidbit of information, but his sensei certainly didn't "So I'll ask nicely right now: Please get on the bed, _master_ "

If anyone other than the two had heard her words then the result would most likely have been one hell of a misunderstanding that, quite honestly, neither of the two would have been able to explain properly, however as things were it simply ended in a starring match between teacher and student, one that wasn't so rare between them.

But in the end if there was one thing that he knew Sadayo could beat him any time of the day it was on just how stubborn she could get with matters like this. A decision was made in his head, one that made him sigh tiredly before nodding in acceptance, deciding that whatever she would do was simply better, and faster, than outright arguing.

Her scowl turned into a smile just as she signaled to his bed, while for his part the leader of the Phantom Thieves simply rubbed the bridge of his nose before just moving towards his bed, the bomb-looking object he had been making now forgotten in his table.

While months ago he might have felt some sort of awkwardness for what was about to happen, heck he could remember how his sensei had to pretty much force him the first time, now it came as natural to him as it could get.

So it didn't take even more than a couple of minutes for the black-haired student to find himself resting face down on his bed while a foreign weight made itself present on his lower back, said weight belonging to his maid-like teacher whose hands were now pretty much roaming on his back and shoulders doing what Akira could only describe as wonderful things.

Of course he couldn't say that he had any previous knowledge about how good a massage could feel, but damn were Sadayo's hand magical. That was the only way he could describe it by now, and coming from someone that had been more than a little skeptic about how good a massage could help him with Metaverse-induced stress it was saying a lot.

He even found himself almost falling asleep by her ministrations, obviously also the work of just how late into the night it was by now. A comfortable silence once again fell on the two that was only broke by small hums that escaped his teacher's lips from time to time.

That was until her curiosity got the best of her of course.

"So…" she spoke, trying her best to sound nonchalantly "What is it with you needing all that stuff all of a sudden?"

And even if he tried to hide it there wasn't much he could do with his body language, and if there was something she could feel right now it was him tensing almost as if he had been caught red-handed doing something illegal.

She didn't stop her hands at that though, not even when he acted as if he didn't hear her once again. Instead she just kept doing her thing, her voice coming out softly once more.

"I can only guess that something big is about to happen" she continued, her gaze becoming half-lidded "With your…extracurricular activities I mean"

Not that she could say that she knew with details just what being a Phantom Thieve meant, but everything simply pointed out to that one factor. Something was about to happen and it had her student worried.

And even after saying that he still had the audacity to keep himself silent. Her right eye even twitched in annoyance at that while her hands suddenly stopped moving.

"You know, that whole mysterious, silent guy act might work with some of the girls at the school" at this point she had lost track of the amount of times she had caught Takamaki looking at the seat behind her after all. Did the girl really think she was being subtle? "But you should know better by now, _master_ "

And the moment she heard him sigh under her she knew that she was actually getting to him, even if just a little.

"It's… like you said" he spoke in a low tone with his eyes looking to the side "We're working on something big and, well, I just want to make sure everything goes smoothly"

Now this was truly a first for the pair, after all Akira wasn't one to share the activities of the Phantom Thieves outside of the members of said team. The one known as Joker didn't know what made him tell her that, if just how good her hands felt, how tired he was feeling or even just how soothing her voice sounded, but he did and he had to admit it lifted just a bit of weight from his shoulders.

They would be facing on Sae Niijima's Palace soon after all, and with that they would put their plan into action.

"And is it…dangerous?" she cursed herself mentally for asking such an obvious thing, but even then she wanted to be certain, after all a bad feeling was starting to made itself present on her gut almost as if something bad was going to happen soon.

However instead of a verbal response what she got was the younger man suddenly raising and twisting his upper body so that he could look straight at her eyes with nothing but a raised eyebrow showing his apparent confusion.

"Are you worried, sensei?" he said with so much sheer innocence that one Sadayo Kawakami just _knew_ he was faking it, but even so she wasn't able to stop herself from blushing just a tiny bit, and the way she saw her student's lips twitch upward confirmed that she had fallen into his little trick.

And her response? She just flicked him right on the forehead and extra strong just to be sure.

"Don't get so full of yourself" she declared with a small glare, one that Akira was more than happy to meet with a smirk "You're my student after all, it _is_ my job to look after you, you know?"

"And I think you're doing an excellent job already, sensei" he shot back, eyes going from her eyes to her outfit and smirk becoming just a bit wider.

"Very funny" she answered back with a click of her tongue alongside a scowl "I was thinking of giving you some free time tomorrow during class, but now I'm not so sure you have earned it"

"You know to strike where it hurts, sensei" he finished with a chuckle right before his smirk turned into a more serious expression "You really shouldn't stress yourself over this that much though, I mean it. You're already helping me a lot and I don't want to be more of a bother"

He was honestly more than glad for all the help she had provided not only to him but to the team, something that he would never deny, but after everything she had been forced to deal with the last thing Akira wanted was to make her life even more problematic.

She deserved a break in his opinion, as simple as that, and even if by now he couldn't help but depend on her a bit he still didn't want her tormenting herself for his doings as a Phantom Thieve, it just wasn't worth it if you asked him.

However it seemed his opinion wasn't shared by the older of the pair since her next actions was to slowly bring her hand right on top of the rather messy mop he called hair right before she started moving her fingers between his raven locks while a small, soft smile slowly appeared on her lips.

"Even if you don't want me to, you're still my student so I _will_ worry about you…" she declared while her gaze softened as she met his "And even if I wasn't your teacher I would still care… You're just someone I don't really mind worrying about"

The more she spoke the softer her voice became until it was nothing short of a whisper, but even so he was able to hear it loud and clear, making a flash of concern to shine in his silver eyes.

"Just…" she spoke once again while looking at him with a serious glare; doubts of the past starting to surface once more "Make sure you come back safe. I don't know what you will do or how dangerous it is but…" a shaky breath escaped her lips, one that she did her best to hide "I swear if I don't see you on class I'll make you repeat the whole year"

Her concern was touching, and simply going by the look on her eyes he knew that mere words would not be enough to stop her. Honestly he knew that asking to just ignore everything was next to impossible after everything that had happened between the two of them, but you couldn't blame a guy for trying.

"I'll do my best" that was the best answer that he could come up to, not only because he knew that if the operation succeeded then he wouldn't be able to go back to Shujin like a regular student, but that if worse came to worse and he failed then…

His eyes narrowed at that. Now was definitely not the time to think of worst case scenario.

"Seriously…" she then spoke after a few seconds followed by a shake of her head "I can only imagine how you acted in your previous school"

"Well…" he said while using his elbows to keep his upper body up "I can assure you I never did something like this with anyone in my old school"

"Good to know" she answered while crossing her arms below her chest, her glare meeting a smile. He really was going to make her get wrinkles one of these days.

" **Hey! I sleep there!"** their attention was taken away from one another though, for Joker by a voice he easily recognized while Sadayo simply heard a loud mewl coming from the stairs.

And of course both of their gazes meet the one of the offended-looking cat known as Morgana, who was looking at the pair as if they had committed some sort of cardinal sin that they weren't aware off.

It would take the teacher and student pair a full minute to finally realize that by now the older woman was pretty much just straddling the younger teen, result of the way he had twisted his body previously to look at Sadayo's eyes.

He certainly wasn't joking when he said he had never done something like _this_ before.

At least he got the free time during class next day, although he guessed a big part of that was the fact that Sadayo couldn't even look at him at the eyes after that.

 **P5P5P5P5P5P5P5P5P5P5P5P5P5**

 **I love how Kawakami was not only able but was more than ready to craft the weirdest things for you. I'll be honest this is probably my least favorite chapter so far, I had plenty of other ideas for Kawakami but none of them fitted for the first chapter so I ended up with this. I promise next one will be better** _ **and**_ **faster to come out.**

 **Some asked if I would do chapters with others characters like Akechi. I certainly wouldn't mind but since that isn't the focus I can't promise anything so far, but I will probably do it as a side chapter one of these days.**

 **So that there's no confusion next two chapters are for Ohya and Chihaya, followed by Hifumi and then finally Lavenza which will have this fic have 1 chapter for each girl. After that we go back to the present and then who knows, orders will be mixed and I might start throwing chapters with multiple Confidants participating.**

 **Thank you all for the support and for the wait!**

 **Next Chapter: Devil**


	9. Devil I

"Akira" Normal Speech

'Akechi' People's thoughts

 **"Persona"** Other being's speech

' **Velvet'** Other being's thoughts

 **Disclaimer: You know the drill; Persona and the SMT franchise belong to our lord Atlus.**

 **Devil I**

 **The Monster She Created**

"Oh? That thing looks better on you than I expected! It even makes you look older…" she said with slight amazement present in her voice just as her eyes roamed on the figure of the young man in front of her. She had to admit that the uniform he was wearing fitted like a glove to a hand.

Now she regretted not being here when he worked more often. Sure, she knew that he sometimes worked as a part-timer, but she had never stayed enough just to see how he actually acted on the job, let alone see him wearing the uniform.

And she had to admit that it was certainly a sight for sore eyes. He could probably pass out as a college student while wearing that!

"Thank you" while for his part the raven-haired young man answered with honesty while a small, grateful smile made itself present on his lips, although said smile was quick to turn into a look of confusion "Isn't it a bit late for you, though?"

"Details, details" she answered while waving her hand lazily in front of her face before putting her head on said hand which was now resting on the wooden counter of the bar "I don't have anything to do tomorrow anyway, so I might as well spend some more time here"

"Don't let her distract you, Kurusu-kun" it was a third voice the one that regarded them both, said voice belonging to the owner of the bar they were currently in, Crossroads "Ichiko-chan is more than capable of taking care of her own, even if she might not look at it"

"Love you too, Lala-chan" the journalist said with a pout, one that had the youngest of the trio chucking slightly.

"If you say so, Lala-san" he responded before moving out of the way and walking to the back of the establishment in order to finish up a couple of things before the nightly clients started to appear, leaving the two friends by themselves.

"He's still right though" it was the cross-dresser the one that spoke first, her eyes firmly planted on her younger friend "It is not normal for you to still be here this late"

"Don't worry about it" the black-haired reporter answered with a grin, easily detecting the worry on her tone "I just wanted to relax for a day and what better place than this one?"

The questioning look that Lala kept giving her banished after a few seconds just as she sighed. The owner of Crossroads was actually a bit glad that her friend was taking a break but she honestly thought there were better places than this one for that.

"As long as you keep yourself on check" she said with a sigh, her gaze then suddenly turning into a small glare "And you better not distract Kurusu-kun while he's working, he already has it busy enough as it is when you aren't here"

"You won't even feel that I'm here!" the innocent look Ichiko gave the cross-dresser honestly just made her even more worried, although it didn't last for long since it was quickly replaced by a frown "Wait, just how busy can he even get anyway?"

The fact that the only answer she got from Lala wasn't even a verbal one, in fact it was just a mysterious and almost proud smirk, gave the journalist a weird feeling in her gut.

Surely it wasn't _that_ bad. She deeply respected and cared for Lala, but even she knew that not _that_ many people came to a place like this, even at what one could call the peak hour for a bar. It honestly just made it better for her to be honest, considering how she had liked to simply drink in silence before and the lack of other costumers had helped a lot with that.

But if there was one thing that she had learned during her job it was to _always_ trust her instinct.

And considering how a member of the infamous Phantom Thieves of Heart was the one put in question something told her that seeing the teenager in action would be a quite the sight.

 **P5P5P5P5P5P5P5P5P5P5P5P5P5**

It was two hours later that one Ichiko Ohya truly understood the meaning behind the cross-dresser's smile, and she had to admit that she didn't know if to feel proud, surprised, angry or a combination of all three.

Why, you may ask, and the answer would be quite simple and it all had to do with the young man that was currently the focus of the journalist's attention, even as she tried her best to not make so obvious.

Said raven-haired youth was currently talking to one of the newly arrived clients, a young woman on her mid-twenties, Ichiko assumed. Now that itself wasn't anything particularly noteworthy, after all considering that his job was to pretty much do exactly that, to lend an ear to the borderline, and sometimes fully, drunk clients that appeared at this hour while giving them whatever type of drink they wanted to drown their sorrows in.

And if it had been just that she would just have let the matters alone and maybe even left already back to her apartment, but what she was witnessing right now was nothing short of a spectacle all by itself.

She didn't know how.

She didn't know _when_.

What she did know though, was that Akira Kurusu could probably give any professional host a run for his money. No, scratch that, if it wasn't because she actually knew the kid then he would have fooled her as one of those hosts that prey on innocent girls with nothing but their sweet words as their weapon.

It might sound like an overreaction, and she knew that she wouldn't believe it if she wasn't seeing it right now. Not that the scene in front of her was anything new for her today though, for she had pretty much lost count of the amount of clients that had already circled through the young man after the first dozen.

Coincidentally enough just like the woman that currently had the student's attention all of them had been, well, _women_.

But even so the sight itself wasn't any less impressive just because it had happened God knows how many times today, and she could only imagine how much it had repeated itself in previous days.

And just like the previous time there he was, a slight smile on his lips that by now was enough to disarm anyone that entered the bar, while his half-lidded eyes looked at the obviously intoxicated woman as if she was the center of his world, the Juliet of his Romeo, and once again it was only because she _knew_ him that she wasn't being fooled by it.

The woman that he currently was attending certainly fell for it though; that much was obvious as it could get, especially with the way she was giggling at every word that came out of his lips. Sure she was obviously quite intoxicated by now if the flush in her face was anything to go by, but considering that the woman had looked as if someone had kicked her puppy not but ten minutes ago she knew that the liquor was hardly a factor here.

But any person could give charming looks and spit nothing but honey out of their mouths, Ichiko was pretty aware of that, so just that wasn't what made Akira such an impressive worker. No, it was the sheer _sincerity_ that he was displaying while attending everyone that came to him, both in his expression and in the words he gave back while hearing their issues, almost as if he actually cared.

And _that_ was the key part, because quite honestly not even she could tell if that was fake or not, but something told her that somehow he actually _did_.

And that was a scary thought all by itself.

Then again considering the story she had with him maybe she shouldn't be that surprised.

Was this really the same kid that had looked so out of place the first time he had entered Crossroads? Her shock was pretty valid to her by now, but it was the other two feelings, them being pride and annoyance, that were mostly taking over by now.

The pride came from the fact that, well, she felt a bit responsible for her informant's current attitude. She wasn't kidding about how out of place he had looked before, and it was after their initial deal that she had decided that if she was going to spend any time with someone like him then she might as well help him a bit when dealing with places like this.

It hadn't been much, but the Akira from then and the one working in front of her eyes were like water and oil, and while she knew that she had helped him in that department there was no way she was _this_ good.

She had taught him how to _act_ , but she had no damn idea where he had learned to talk like that! A small shudder went down her spine right at that moment, and she just hoped that whoever had taught him wasn't using those talents for any…explicit activity.

No one in the bar was aware, but on another part of Tokyo certain politician suddenly sneezed.

And finally she felt just a tad bit annoyed by everything she had seen so far. Obviously underestimating him had been a mistake, but this was ridiculous. How was it that she had never seen him acting like this, ever?!

Yes she could feel his confidence whenever they spoke, but this and that were completely different things. What, was she no good enough for the full charming young man treatment? And he hadn't even come to attend her even once during the past two hours, almost as if she didn't exist. Not like she wanted all of his attention but c'mon, wasn't she a client too?!

She huffed to the side right before taking a sip of her drink, the liquid going down her throat at quite the speed. Well if he really preferred to spend time with every dejected woman in their mid-twenties besides her then, who was she to judge anyway?

She stopped drinking once she finally realized just what kind of thoughts she was having, a groan suddenly escaping her lips right as she lowered her head, her forehead meeting wood. Great, now she was acting like a jealous schoolgirl, just what she needed.

Maybe it was really time for her to hit home before her pride took any more hits from herself.

And she would at least have done that, if it wasn't for the glass of water that was suddenly presented right to the side of her face and by now she didn't even have to look up to know just who was it that left it to her.

He sure took his sweet ass time, didn't he?

"Something's bothering you?" she heard his voice, but unlike the one she had heard him use with everyone today it was the regular, serious tone she was used to hear from him, with a bit of playfulness from time to time.

"No…" she said while deciding to simply take on the offer and drink a bit of the water while her eyes regarded him "What, you finished preying on the depressed ones?"

"Well…" he said with uncertainty while his gaze went to the side. She followed said gaze, and she just wasn't able to hide the snort that came out of her right as her eyes landed on the passed out form of the woman the young man had been attending before.

Some people really couldn't handle their alcohol, could they?

"Lala-san normally deals with those" he continued speaking while one of his hands scratched the back of his head "I really don't see the point of drinking something that will just make you pass out"

"Just give it a few years" the black-haired journalist said "I bet you'll understand then"

A chuckle was the only response she got before the two of them fell on a small silence, with the only sound that could be heard being the slight snoring from the passed out woman and the rambling of another obvious drunk client that was being attended by the owner of the place.

Not that the silence lasted very long though.

"Sorry for not checking on you sooner" he suddenly said, definitely catching her by surprise "Lala-san told me to focus on the other costumers, and things were pretty hectic until now"

"Don't worry" she said with a shrug, deciding to just bury the bits of annoyance that she had felt before, although she guessed that she should have figured out her friend would tell him to do something like that.

"You're really good at this though…" she continued while her gaze looked at everywhere but him "Ever thought of doing it more than just part-time? I'm sure Lala-chan would be happy to have you around some more"

"I don't think I would have the time for that" another chuckle followed his answer which finally got her to look at him "Besides I don't think I'm good enough for that"

"Ho? Modest aren't we?" she told him with no small amount of sarcasm dripping from her voice. Was he being for real right now? "I think missy here would like to say otherwise" she said as she pointed to the passed out woman, who suddenly giggled on her sleep almost as if she had heard her.

"Maybe but…" he said just as his gaze landed on hers, brown eyes meeting silver as no words were said for a couple of seconds before he spoke once more "What's the point if I can't impress the one that matters the most?"

I took her exactly ten seconds to actually realize what he meant by his words, although it certainly didn't help that he kept her eyes on hers through it all, but once she did her reaction came almost instantly.

Her red lips parted even though no words came out of her just as her eyes suddenly widened in nothing but sheer shock at being caught off guard by his words, and she didn't have to look at herself in a mirror to know that her cheeks were tainted red, and this time it wasn't because she had drunk just a bit much.

And she lasted like that exactly ten seconds more, just for her gaze to quickly notice how the corner of his mouth was twitching slightly upwards.

Her surprised expression quickly turned into an annoyed once while a glare appeared on her eyes, which of course was being aimed at the young man in front of her who at that point couldn't really contain the slowly-forming smirk from appearing in his lips.

She was quick to voice her displeasure.

"Nice try there, kid, but you're right, you aren't _that_ good" she said sullenly as she saw him chuckle, her glare simply becoming fiercer in response.

"Well you can't blame a guy for trying, can you?" the grin he was giving her was certainly not helping either.

"You are _so_ lucky you're cute enough"

"I'll take your words as a compliment, Ichiko-san"

And with that she just snorted and looked to the side, simply deciding to not give him the satisfaction of getting a reaction out of her.

And if there was thing she promised herself that day it was to never tell her how her heart had skipped a beat for just a second.

We don't want him believing he has the upper-hand, now do we?.

 **P5P5P5P5P5P5P5P5P5P5P5P5P5**

 **I'll be honest and say that I find it sad just how underappreciated Ohya is (and Chihaya to a lesser degree because fortune telling). I mean I understand why (boy are her Confidant bonus useless) but I still find it sad, especially since her story is one of the few that actually connects to the main plot, although slightly.**

 **Another short chapter I know, although I think the only one that can be considered long is the first one.**

 **Next one will be Chihaya and I'll admit she's the one I'm having more troubles finding ideas so it might take longer than normal for her chapter.**

 **Someone asked for Sae and I'll admit I love her to death (It also shows just how OP Joker is if he really managed to go from Rank 1 to 10 with her in what, less than an hour?) But beside some small appearances in chapters with other characters like Makoto she won't have a key role here. Why? Because I want to keep it free for a future JokerXSae fic (featuring an older Joker) so, sorry if that disappoints anyone.**

 **Thank you all for reading this far and not giving up on my butchering of the language, your support is truly appreciated.**

 **Next Chapter: Wheel of Fortune.**


	10. Fortune I

"Akira" Normal Speech

'Akechi' People's thoughts

 **"Persona"** Other being's speech

' **Velvet'** Other being's thoughts

 **Disclaimer: You know the drill; Persona and the SMT franchise belong to our lord Atlus.**

 **Fortune I**

 **Rainy Times**

"I'm so sorry for this…" she lamented just as she hung her head low with her shoulders dropped down.

"You do know you can't control the weather, right?" an amused response was the only thing she got as an answer.

"And I even went as far as to bother you to help me…" she continued with her laments almost as if she hadn't heard him, her blonde honey hair draping over her as she kept her defeated posture.

"I mean, it would be great if you could control it, but I don't see how this is your fault at all" he continued with his own words too, but a part of him knew they were just falling on deft ears.

"Sorry for making you waste your night…" besides their voices the only other sound that could be heard was the one of the falling droplets of water that had taken over not only their gaze but also their whole night, for calling the current weather just a small downpour would be an understatement.

It wasn't the first time that something like this had happened during her work hours of course, but normally she saw it coming with enough time to not actually get herself caught on it, and sometimes she even went as far as to use her craft to know if something like this would happen.

But of course today just so happened to be the day she hadn't done that, while also being the day that the downpour had simply came out of nowhere without even a second of warning.

She quite literally went from setting up her table to doing her best to not get herself and her cards completely soaked in the rain. She was more than sure that people passing by would have laughed at her if they hadn't been so focused on finding their own shelter.

Such was her shock that she had momentarily forgotten about the young man that she had called for help earlier, at least until she felt the droplets of water no longer hitting on the top of her head, and the reason for that became quite obvious once she had raised her head, her purple eyes meeting silver ones.

And that brought the current situation, with her still feeling more than a bit down about not only her whole night going to waste, since the rain didn't look like it would stop any time soon, but also about making her assistant come here just to get him caught in the rain like her.

Not like anyone would want to have their fortune read while they got soaked, so of course by now she had packed everything once more, her eyes glued to the empty, soaked streets that made her think that she would have been catching a cold by now if he hadn't appeared on time.

Sure, her hair got a bit wet, but the umbrella that he was currently holding above her head was enough to shield her from the rain. Now she most certainly regretted not having one of those.

"I didn't have anything else to do today anyway, so this is still better than nothing" he tried to cheer her up and for just a second he thought he did considering that she had finally reacted to his words.

But considering said reaction was her suddenly looking up and slightly glaring at him with what he could only describe as a pout on her face, he wasn't so sure his words got the result he had wanted.

"You are pretty much the busiest person I know!" she said with a decisive nod of her head that had her blonde hair moving with her action. She wasn't exaggerating mind you, because while it was true that she didn't know _that_ many people in Tokyo, outside of her clients at least, from the ones that she knew there was no doubt in her mind that the teenager to her side was the busiest one.

This wasn't the first time she had called for his help through her work hours, but even as she did that at least once per week the amount of times he actually came to help her weren't that many.

Not that he blamed him or anything after all she knew just how busy a high school student could be sometimes, and add that to his, well, other _job_ and you had plenty of reasons for him to not be able to come to help her every time she requested it.

And in theory she didn't actually _need_ his help, and she knew she was being more than a bit selfish by making him come here with the excuse of her needing his assistance, but she just wanted to be close to him!

Was that so bad?

"I'm sure you're overreacting a bit…" sure, he knew he might be just a little bit more busy than your average highschooler, his duties as a Phantom Thief aside of course, but surely he wasn't _that_ bad.

"I'm pretty sure you already spent all the money I gave you back in nothing but Affinity Readings and then some!" she said as she crossed her arms over her chest while her tone of voice made it sound as if she was stating the most obvious thing in the world "Somehow you even became my number one costumer"

At her words he could do nothing except chuckle a bit, knowing that she had him there and that denying anything would be futile, but surely he hadn't spent _that_ much on just that.

Or at least that's what he would like to believe.

But for her it was something that both amazed her and had her in slight jealousy. Of course the money was always welcomed, although she had offered to help him for free since that was the least she could do, but he had been truly adamant about paying for her service.

It also gave her another reason to see him while she worked, and although those meetings were shorter than the rest he at least stayed for a bit after her job was done. It might be little but for her it was the little things that mattered right now.

However even then she couldn't deny that she found herself a bit…conflicted about the amount of friends he had, or at least she guessed they were friends if he was willing to spend money on their relationship like that.

Or to be more precise what had her on edge were the amount of obvious girls he apparently hanged out with, or at least that's what she got from their names. She wasn't that surprised that he was so popular, but no wonders he was busy all the time!

She didn't even have the guts to ask him if one of them was his girlfriend, although she had wanted for a while. It had taken all of her strength to just ask him if he liked older woman, any more than that and she was sure she would die of embarrassment.

But the thing that had her frowning just at the thought of it was the fact that, even though he obviously was more than willing to get her help with those relationships, not even _once_ he had asked her for a reading between him and herself!

It was a petty thing that much she knew, but she just couldn't help but be a bit iffy about it. Even if she knew it was a bit of an embarrassing request when the other person was sitting right in front of you she couldn't even remember the last time she had seen him, well, embarrassed about anything!

"You're over thinking something, aren't you?" she was suddenly taken out of her thoughts by his voice with the sudden action being enough to catch her by surprise.

Had she really been that caught up in her memories?

"Pretty much…" he continued with a smile. Great, now he was reading her mind somehow "You always tend to frown cutely when you're like that"

Whatever complains she was about to give him died on her throat by his words, her gaze falling to her feet once more just as she felt the burning of her cheeks. She knew she was the older one of the two and that she shouldn't let that kind of things to affect her that much, but if there was one thing that she wasn't used to it was to honest to god compliments like those.

There were certainly none of those back at her home, and while the ones that she had received as the Maiden were good they would always be tainted by what she had done before she had met him, so hearing such honest words for him was enough to make her fidget a bit.

She really had to work on that, it just wasn't fair.

Her gaze once again moved towards him, her purple eyes inspecting the side of his face since the teen was too busy focusing on the road on the front. He slightly turned a few seconds later though, just as the feeling of someone watching him made itself present, and it was only thanks to his movements that she was able to notice something that she had missed up until that point.

"Akira-kun, you could get sick…" she said with worry just as she pointed to his shoulder, which he followed with his gaze, and true enough his shoulder, alongside most of the right side of his body and clothes, was pretty wet at the moment with even more droplets of water falling on it without missing a beat.

"The umbrella isn't exactly big enough" he explained to her with a shrug while his face showed that he wasn't really bothered by it "Don't worry, I'm sure it will stop at any second now"

The fact that somehow the rain became even fiercer just seemed to prove otherwise.

And for her part Chihaya bit her bottom lip as her purple eyes moved from the right side of her assistant to the umbrella above her. Sure enough it wasn't a particularly big one, and now she realized that the only reason she wasn't getting any water on her was because she was hogging most of it.

If she hadn't been feeling guilty before then now she most certainly did.

A small idea then popped on her head, one that had her shuffle on her spot in slight nervousness. Could she really do something that daring? Maybe it wasn't much for others but for her it was.

She might be the older of the two but most of the time it didn't really feel like that at all. How was she expecting things to progress when she couldn't even do something as simple as what she just thought off?

Especially when the only reason he was getting hit by the rain in the first place was because of her own fault.

She took a deep breath and without warning moved her right hand to grab the umbrella by herself. Her hand ended up brushing against his, which easily got his attention if the way his gaze focused on her was any indication.

She grabbed the umbrella tightly, and she could easily feel the lower side of her hand still touching his, but it wasn't something that would stop her now of course. She then moved slowly, inch by inch closer to the raven-haired man to her side while she slowly guided the umbrella so that it would cover the two, something that Akira was apparently happy to let happen.

She ended up with her back pressed firmly to his front with the umbrella now firmly planted above the two, although she still refused to let go in fear of something happening if she did.

She closed her eyes slightly with nothing but the sound of rain drops and her own beating heart meeting her ears. She just hoped he wasn't able to hear it too, but considering how close they were with one another she wouldn't be surprised if he did.

'He's warm…' she thought absentmindedly, and while the cold from before didn't really bothered her that much she had to admit that this was way better. He also felt firm onto her back and she had to wonder if he exercised in any way.

Realizing that thoughts like that did little to help her she did her best to calm herself with slow, steady breaths. It wouldn't do to act like a blushing mess in his presence. She had to take the lead here!

"I-is it better like this…?" she asked uncertainly since she wasn't able to see his reaction. Did he mind? Was he bothered by her approach? Or was he just as nervous as she was? A part of her would like to think so but it was pretty much impossible to tell by now.

At least until she felt his breath on her neck, something that was enough to send a shiver down her spine as she almost reacted in surprise.

"You didn't have to force yourself so much, you know…?" his words came without messing a heartbeat "Thank you though…"

It was once again his honest words that had her smiling in relief. Surely it was not a great, meaningful moment like those she sometimes saw on some dramas, but it was something and even if small it was still _their_ moment.

And that was all it mattered to her.

 **P5P5P5P5P5P5P5P5P5P5P5P5P5**

 **Alright I'm pretty sure it shows but I really just had little to no ideas for Chihaya, something that bothers me a lot since I actually like her a lot in design and personality. She will probably be the hardest part for me to write and for that I apologize to all of her fans.**

 **Now the "older" girls are done for now and with this we inch closer to finish all off the girl's first chapters. Only two more to go and next one is a personal favorite (I did put her on the pairing for a reason)**

 **Thank you all once again for reading this far!**

 **Next Chapter: Star**


	11. Star I

"Akira" Normal Speech

'Akechi' People's thoughts

 **"Persona"** Other being's speech

' **Velvet'** Other being's thoughts

 **Disclaimer: You know the drill; Persona and the SMT franchise belong to our lord Atlus.**

 **Star I**

 **Queen of Games**

"I challenge you to a duel, Phony Princess!" The words were declared with might and in a voice so loud that she was sure everyone inside the church had heard it even though they were outside by the entrance, but even as she heard the declaration as clearly as she could the words itself still took some time to be actually understood by her brain, the proof of that being the more than a little bewildered expression that she was sure she had on her face.

An expression that she was also more than sure that it was being mirrored by her friend to her side, and just as her own green eyes kept focusing on the one responsible of saying such a thing she just had to wonder: How had her morning ended up like this?

It should have been a simply regular one, or at least that what it looked like when she had begun her way towards the church in Kanda in which she normally played.

There was only one real difference from the other times in which she had made the walk, and that was the fact that she actually wasn't making it alone. Instead she was being accompanied by someone she knew very well.

He also just so happened to be her favorite partner when it came to the game she loved, but by now that was just an extremely good added bonus.

The small talk she had done with him throughout their walk was a most pleasurable one and once again she felt glad that the raven-haired young man hadn't abandoned her once she had told him the truth.

And although she knew that the two of them meeting before reaching the church wasn't something that happened often it was still something that she wouldn't mind getting used to.

All and all her day had started quite good and considering that she would be spending most of the afternoon in the company of her friend and confidant she just knew that it would only get better from here on out. The only thing even stopping her from humming in content was that she knew he would catch on that quite fast.

And to be honest she believed that she had embarrassed herself in front of him far too many times already.

But of course things just had to go on a completely different curve for her today, didn't they?

A bad feeling on her gut had formed itself the moment the church itself had made itself obvious on their views. Normally such a place would calm her, but something told her that walking towards it would spell more trouble than it was worth it.

Not that it had stopped her of course, and now she quite regretted not just turning around and walking away with her fellow student in toe.

The first sign that something was different was the car that was parked in front of the church. She wasn't an expert or anything of cars of course, but with all the time she had spend here by now she had the confidence that she could recognize most of the ones that belonged to the regulars here.

And this one was completely different from any other she had seen here before, especially with how expensive looking the vehicle seemed to be.

And then once they had walked closer, more than ready to simply walk inside the church, one of the doors of the vehicle had been opened almost in a hurry just for someone to quickly get out of said car.

And as soon as Hifumi's eyes had landed on said person only one question had made itself present in her mind.

How could someone even get a hair like that?! She would like to consider her own raven hair fairly normal, just like the one of the young man to her side, so seeing something so…extravagant in front of her had her eyes opened in shock.

How did someone get so much red, golden and dark blue on their head, let alone get it so be so spiky?!

It had taken her a few seconds to realize that it was a girl that looked a bit younger than her, probably two years younger to be exact, but before she had even gotten the time to say something it had been that statement the one that had left the girl with the wild hair's lips.

"I challenge you to a duel, Phony Princess!"

And all of that brought her to her current situation, with both her and Akira looking at the younger girl as if she had grown a second head, and this time it had nothing to do with her appearance.

Although the pose she was doing, which one hand on her hips while she pointed at Hifumi with her other hand did little to lessen their shock.

"You know her…?" The only thing that took her out of her shock was the voice of the silver-eyed young man to her side, who had whispered his question to her while his eyes refused to move from the still posing girl.

She could only shake her head in response as her own green eyes also refused to move even an inch while her lips opened and closed for a few seconds, her mind trying to find the right words to use right now.

She decided to ignore the nickname the younger girl had used too, just for the sake of her mind.

"Excuse me…" She started slowly while a light frown made itself present on her face "Do I know you…?"

"Heh" Hifumi had feared that her question would be found rude by the other girl, but that thought was swept under the rug once the red and gold-haired girl simply smirked in response while crossing her arms over her chest "I guess I shouldn't be surprised for someone like _you_ to not know who I am"

Now if there was a thing Hifumi would say it was that it wasn't easy to get her upset. Even when her mother had been as overbearing as one could get she had still handled it with a stride.

But even so something about the way the girl had referred to her simply ticked her off, and considering that she had used that nickname that she had gotten after the whole fiasco the green-eyed schoolgirl knew just what the girl was referring to.

A hand on her shoulder however, was enough to get the Kosei student to recover. She gave a thankful smile to the young man to her side, which he was quick to return alongside a node right before addressing the other girl.

"And what can we do for you exactly?" He asked in a neutral tone alongside a raised eyebrow, not liking how the girl had addressed Hifumi but also knowing that the shogi player herself would prefer to simply not make a scene.

"Huh? Didn't you hear me or something?" And now said girl was looking at him with no small amount of annoyance on her purple eyes as she looked between the two second year highschoolers "I said I wanted a duel with the Princess here"

"Duel…?" Hifumi wasn't able to stop herself from voicing her doubt, although if she really had to guess then there was only one thing that the girl could be referring to.

"Yes, a duel of shogi of course. You against me, one match" And now the confident smirk was back at the girl's lips "How does that sound? You think you're up to the challenge?"

Hifumi narrowed her eyes at those words for they certainly hit her competitive streak. She moved her head to look around, realizing that they had become the center of attention of everyone walking into the church.

Her gaze then landed on the silver ones of her friend who simply shrugged at her silent question, pretty much telling her that it was up to her to which she just nodded in response. She didn't really have any reasons to deny a challenge from anyone still being willing to play with her, even if the girl's attitude let a lot to be desire right now.

"Very well" Hifumi said firmly and with a nod "Let's go inside then, although I must ask you to be silent so that we don't upset anyone" She wouldn't forgive herself if this little predicament unsettled anyone on the church after all.

However at hearing those words the smirk on the girl's face was replaced by another look of annoyance, almost as if she was wondering how they could say something so dumb.

"Where the hell is the fun in that?" She complained with her hands back at her hips "No no, we must decided everything first if we want this to be fun!"

"And what do you mean by that exactly?" Akira was the once to voice out her own doubts, and simply judging by his voice she wasn't the only one confused.

It didn't help that another bad feeling suddenly made itself present for her.

"A bet of course!" The spiky girl said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world "What's the point of a game if nothing is on stake?"

"I refuse then" And just as quickly came Hifumi's response, which was followed by a shake of her head. She had never, _ever_ used her passion for gambling and right now she didn't feel like starting. She knew just how problematic things could get after all.

"Oh please, I will even make it sweet for you!" The younger girl continued while another smirk slowly appeared on her face "If you somehow manage to win I'll do my best to clean your crumbled reputation as the Phony Princess. I have quite the contacts you see, so I can certainly do such a thing if I want to…"

And even if the offer sounded too good to be truth Hifumi was still more than ready to still refuse the offer, after all she still didn't know what she would have to bet nor she believed she had anything worth such a thing in the first place.

But another squeeze on her shoulder stopped her on her tracks, and instead of her voice it was Akira the one that spoke out first.

"And if you win?" The leader of the Phantom Thieves asked swiftly with a strange glint on his eyes that Hifumi wasn't so used to seeing.

The only other time she could remember was when she had talked to him about her mother.

His own question had the purple-eyed girl looking deep in thought for a second right before her eyes landed on Akira's hand, which still just so happened to be resting on Hifumi's shoulders, the sight itself making the girl smile in a way that most definitely made Hifumi uncomfortable.

But even so nothing would have prepared her for the next thing she heard.

"You two seem quite close to one another, and …" The girl said airily while her smirk came to full force "And you aren't bad looking at all" Those words were directed towards Akira "Heh, I think I got it. _After_ I win you will have to surrender your boyfriend to myself, Princess. Fair enough, don't you think?"

…

…

…

There were so many things wrong with what the girl had just said that Hifumi didn't even know where to start.

Not only was betting something like _that_ utterly ridiculous in her opinion, they were betting a person for God's sake, but Akira wasn't even her boyfriend in the first place!

Although at the back of her mind she had to wonder if they really looked like a couple if the girl made that conclusion just by looking at them. That was probably the only thing the girl had said today that didn't get on her nerves.

And she at least had to agree that Akira was not bad looking at all. In fact if you asked her he was pretty handso-

She suddenly shook her head in a vain attempt to get rid of those thoughts. Now was not the time for that!

But if she felt reluctance to accept before then she wouldn't even think of it after hearing that, and she was more than ready to voice it out, and she would have if Akira hadn't stopped her once again.

"Give us a second" The young man said swiftly before turning around while motioning to Hifumi to follow his lead, which she was quick to do with a frown of confusion of her own.

"I know you weren't going to accept…" He whispered low enough so that only she could hear him, and once she did she simply nodded in response. Of course she wouldn't, who honestly would?

"But are you sure about that?" He continued with his talk, hoping that the shogi player would understand from where he was coming from. As someone that he considered close to him hearing others talk about her in the wrong way for what her mother had done was not something he enjoyed at all.

He knew personally how it was after all, and even if Hifumi seemed to be mostly fine with her new treatment it was still something that he wished to change no matter what, but sadly he just didn't have an actual way to do it.

At least until one had seemingly dropped into his lap. He didn't know if what the girl was saying was true, and he was more than ready to ask Futaba to dig in some information about her, but if there was a possibility to help Hifumi then he would take it without missing a beat.

"Akira-kun…" The shogi player said warningly with a frown, already getting what he was trying to do and she didn't like it one bit "You can't really expect me to _bet_ you"

"This is your chance" He shot back without missing a beat with nothing but a friendly smile on his face "You also told me how much you wanted to play with others beside me and I think this can be a good start… even if she's rude"

She had to control herself from snorting at that since, in her opinion, that was putting it lightly. She opened her mouth to protest once again, but her words died on her throat once she saw the look on his eyes.

"And I trust you, Hifumi- _sensei_ "

His gaze was filled with nothing but sheer confidence. Pure trust not only in her but in her skills on the game she loved and that she had taught him, and how could he not trust her when he had gone as far as to use the techniques she had taught him with the Phantom Thieves.

He had never told her that, but he didn't want to imagine just how things would have turned out without Hifumi on his side, so putting his faith on her was, in his opinion, the _least_ he could do.

And the raven-haired girl could feel said faith from his gaze alone to the point that she had to take his gaze away from him in fear of him noticing the reddening of her cheeks. How could she say anything when he was looking at her like that? Did he really believe in her _that_ much?

She didn't know how to express how thankful she was if that was truly the case.

"Well?! You done or what?" And for just one second Hifumi had even forgotten about the reason they had been having this conversation in the first place. The two teenagers turned around as soon as they got called by the obviously annoyed younger girl who was even tapping her foot impatiently while a glare rested on her face.

"It is up to you know" However Hifumi heard one last whisper to her side, but when she turned she only saw the smiling form of the young man she had taught about shogi. She lowered her gaze to the ground for a few seconds; multiple thoughts going through her mind almost a mile per second to the point that she was even biting her lower lip.

She just didn't want to use anyone, especially Akira of all people, like a bargaining chip just for her own entertainment, but knowing that he was willing to go as far as to allow it simply because he trusted her was the thing that ended up winning her over.

"Very well…" She said slowly, her black eyes meeting purple "I accept then" If he had so much trust in her then she would simply have to match those expectations and not lose the game.

She _was_ his teacher after all, at least when it came to shogi, and not having confidence in one self was the last thing you could do in front of those you taught.

"Finally!" the spiky-haired girl said out loud "For a moment I thought you would chicken out, Princess, but glad to see you at _least_ have the spirit!" She then raised a finger in front of the duo while her other hand rested on her hips "I'll be kind and give you one week to prepare then, and we will face right here after that!"

With those last words the girl actually moved inside the car, almost as if the whole thing had stopped being interesting to her, however before she closed the door of the vehicle she was quick to give one last glance to the two highschool students.

"You better not bail out on me or I'll be really sure to take your pretty boy away from you" And with that the girl was gone. She simply closed the door and not even a second later the car was driven away from the church, leaving two very perplexed teenagers.

"You know…" It was Akira the one that broke the silence first, his eyes still glued to where the car had been "We never even got her name…"

"What did I just get into…?" The girl whispered as she moved her hand to massage her forehead.

"C'mon, what's the worst that can happen?" The innocent smile that he gave her with those words did little to stop the headache mind you.

"You…can be surprisingly pushy, Akira-kun" She couldn't stop herself from commenting it but her words got nothing but a small chuckle from the Phantom Thief.

"At least we _did_ get something out of this" He followed her words with his own, which got him a confused frown from the girl which he was quick to match with a completely serious one of his own "I am apparently _not_ bad looking"

"I could have told you that myself…" And those words were said by her before she even got time to think about them, because as soon as she did she moved her hand over her mouth, her eyes as wide as they could get just as she saw his serious expression break into another far too innocent smile.

And the groan that she made soon after did little to stop said smile from becoming wider.

 **P5P5P5P5P5P5P5P5P5P5P5P5P5**

 **I'll admit I took this chapter to simply write something as light-hearted as it could get. I might continue this little side-story if you guys ended up liking it but I will understand if you don't.**

 **With this all the female Confidants now have a chapter each. What comes next is a special one about Lavenza before we finally go back to the present and we'll see from there.**

 **Thank you all for reading this far and sorry for the delay, I just so happen to finally get into Danganronpa last week so go and blame that franchise.**

 **Next Chapter: Velvet.**


	12. Velvet I

"Akira" Normal Speech

'Akechi' People's thoughts

 **"Persona"** Other being's speech

' **Velvet'** Other being's thoughts

 **Disclaimer: You know the drill; Persona and the SMT franchise belong to our lord Atlus.**

 **Velvet I**

 **You Are Not Alone**

Grey.

That was a color he was getting awfully familiar with.

It also just so happened to be the color of his eyes.

He couldn't remember ever getting bothered by the color of his eyes before, but now he had to wonder if they were really as dull as he considered that color to be now.

Then again his perception of said color had changed a lot in the past month, not that he could stop something like that of course. It would be hard to do so when everywhere you looked there was nothing but, well, _grey_.

Worrying about the lack of variety of colors was probably the last thing he should be doing considering the place he currently was locked in though.

It was jail in case you wondered, or to be more specific his own little grey cell.

A sigh escaped his lips soon after, right as he moved his hand to pinch the bridge of his nose, although it didn't take him too much before going back to have his gaze glued to the ceiling of his cell while his own eyes remained half-opened.

He was also utterly bored of course, but not like there were plenty of things to do around here, _especially_ at this hour. Lights were about to go out anyway so he was simply using the time he had left to count the cracks that the ceiling had.

He could still hear the footsteps of the guards doing the last check on everyone before they were done for the night. His cell had already been checked too so at this point it was only a matter of time before darkness took over him completely.

And just like he had imagined not even a whole minute passed before the lights were turned off, leaving him unable to even see the ceiling anymore.

He twisted his body slightly so that he rested on his side, with the only sounds that were reaching his ears being those of the snores of his cellmate. He closed his eyes almost forcefully, deciding to do his best to simply end the day there.

In his opinion the less time he had to actually be here the better even if his only way of escaping was in his own subconscious.

But it was at least something.

And just like that another night passed for the leader of the Phantom Thieves.

One day more in his newest prison.

 **P5P5P5P5P5P5P5P5P5P5P5P5P5**

Lunch hour was always an interesting time for him, although not for the right reasons in his opinion.

At least by now he had gotten used to the barely eatable food they kept serving everyone. Maybe he had been spoiled way too much by Sojiro and his curry, but he honestly couldn't call this thing actual _food_.

It beat starving to death at least, so there was that.

What made this time a particularly interesting one were the gazes he always received from his fellow inmates. Those gazes were always filled with curiosity, apprehensiveness, distrust and for some even loathing.

He had figured out the reason for that rather soon, in his first week here to be more precise. He didn't know how or when but somehow the fact that he was a Phantom Thieve had been leaked here, and suffices to say the people here had taken the news rather badly.

At least most simply kept their distance out of apparent fear of him using some sort of crazy tricks on them, but there were more than a few that apparently held a grudge towards the group itself, and since he was the only recognized member of it he was also the best target for blowing off some steam.

It also hadn't taken so long for him to figure out that most of those had been working for Kaneshiro before the man confessed.

And speaking of them.

The raven-haired youth had to steady himself after being pretty much shoved by the shoulder, his hand gripping the tray of food he had been holding tighter to make sure that it didn't fell down since he knew it would only make things worse.

"You better watch where you're going _"_ An unpleasant voice followed soon after, one that at this point he was all too familiar with hearing.

Said voice simply belonged to who he could only assumed had been one of Kaneshiro's underling back in before they ruined their business, or at least that was the expression that the clearly angry, older man gave off to him.

Said man easily stood out from the rest though, at least to him. Not by his appearance mind you, but mostly by the fact that he had been pretty much the one to spearhead the hate towards him, both vocally and in actions.

And the man had made sure that he knew that he wasn't welcomed here right on his first week inside. If _that_ particular meeting had gone worse than it had gone Akira was sure that he would have scars as prove of the tale.

"I'll do my best" He answered back with a firm stare, his tone of voice telling the older individual just what he thought about his advice. If there was one thing Akira had learned here it was that showing weakness was a big no around these parts.

Sure, you could be scared out of your wits to no end, but you just had to make sure no one _ever_ knew that or else you would become prey to guys like this.

And judging by the heated glare the man was sporting Akira already knew that his lunch would not be a peaceful one, or at least that is what it had looked like until the older guy had turned his eyes from his own silver ones to something, or rather _someone_ right behind him.

And with a click of his tongue he left to who knows were, not that Akira cared either. As long as the man kept his distance then he could do whatever he wanted to.

He walked towards the table that he normally used, which just so happened to be as empty as it always was. No one wanted to eat close to him, and those that did certainly weren't doing it out of the goodness of their heart, so the raven-haired youth was certainly fine with eating away from the rest.

Not like he was eating completely alone anyway.

He sat quietly into his spot, his own gaze fixed down while a frown appeared in his face until he felt someone else sitting in front of him on the other side of the table.

He raised his head to look at the individual, someone he had also grown used to during the last month. It was hard not to when the man was not only your cellmate but also at this point your second shadow.

It might sound like he was exaggerating but Akira was definitely not, in fact his presence alone was the only reason that the situation a few minutes back hadn't turned for the worse.

Not only that but he had also been the one to save him from getting a worse beatdown by Kaneshiro's little former minions.

His eyes focused on the imposing figure sitting in front of him who seemed to be more than happy with just ignoring him with the obvious intent of simply eating in silence, and for all the time the leader of the Phantom Thieves had been with the obviously older, black shoulder-length haired individual he still hadn't been able to have a proper conversation with him.

Not for a lack of trying, mind you.

"Thank you…" He whispered low enough so that only the two of them could hear, which was easy with the noise of the rest of the inmates eating in the area. He also knew that the man didn't like to be thanked but the silver-eyed Persona user felt that it was the least he could say.

The only thing he got in return was a half-grunt half-snort which didn't even stop the taller man from continuing with his meal which simply got a sigh of resignation from Akira who at this point was used to the silent treatment.

In fact if it hadn't been for that one name that the man had whispered to him after he had first helped him here he would have no idea why he even associated himself with him, let alone help him.

One thing he was sure to remember from now own though, was to never underestimate the connection that a former Yakuza could have.

Hell, just the thought of Iwai telling him that it was just an employee's bonus was enough to have him smiling slightly.

 **P5P5P5P5P5P5P5P5P5P5P5P5P5**

Reading was one of his favorite hobbies.

It had been so during his stay at Tokyo, after all having a hobby to relax between your friends, school and work hadn't sounded like a bad idea at the time, especially with how Morgana himself seemed to approve of it.

Besides he had to admit that some things he had learned in those books had been more than useful from both the academics and the whole Phantom Thieve side. He even got some really key information out of books he just thought would never read before that day.

Especially that fishing one. He wasn't sure he would have survived without that one for as long as he did.

So considering the insane amounts of free time that he now found himself with, something that he couldn't remember having for a long time now, it wasn't rare that he had continued with his passion for books, even though the selection that he had available here definitely let more than a little to be desired.

Not that he was going to complain when the other option was to count until infinity in his head just to see how long it took him to lose his sanity, so even if he had already read some of those books they still beat having nothing to do.

That and considering he had a man following him like a shadow with the apparent intent of protecting him he had just decided to not make said man have to do even more by having to follow him everywhere, so just staying in his cellroom with a book on hand simply became his go to pastime.

That was why he was currently resting in his bed with a book in his hand, his silver eyes moving along the words as he changed the page from time to time. He had already finished this one mind you, but considering he had just a few minutes before lights went out he had decided to at least take advantage of the light he still had.

He could already hear his roommate's snores though, and while it didn't really bother him he was still slightly surprised on how the man could fall asleep so easily.

It didn't take long for his whole vision to be clouded in darkness as his eyes weren't even able to make up the letters in the book anymore. He sighed slightly as he closed said book with a thud before putting it on the side of the bed.

His gaze glued itself to the roof as it always did every night, and he made sure to keep it like that for a couple of minutes until he felt his eyelids becoming heavier by the minute.

'Morgana would probably be happy of how early I go to sleep every day' The raven-haired young man thought with a small snort as melancholy danced on his eyes. He passed a hand through his face before finally closing his eyes, deciding that thoughts like that right now weren't going to help him that much.

It didn't take long for him to join his roommate in slumber, and it was probably a good thing too.

Or else he would have not been able to contain himself as soon as he had seen the small, blue butterfly that had entered his cellroom, bathed in a small, brilliant light that somehow went unnoticed as it reached its destination.

And once the small winged being set itself right on Akira's chest it disappeared as if it had never been there in the first place.

 **P5P5P5P5P5P5P5P5P5P5P5P5P5**

The next time he woke up he did so with a strange feeling coursing through his whole body.

It wasn't an unpleasant feeling though; in fact it was quite the opposite. He almost felt some sort of…familiar feeling, almost nostalgic in fact.

It reached to the point that instead of waking up slowly as usual he opened his eyes in a hurried surprise, and for the first time in a month the first thing he saw wasn't a wall of grey concrete, but instead a dark blue that he had seen many times throughout his journey.

He jumped out of the bed he was resting and his eyes looked wildly at the cellroom he found himself in. It was of course a different one from the one that had been hosting him for the past month, however this was somehow even more familiar to the leader of the Phantom Thieves to the point that the only thing that got his attention from inspecting the small room from top to bottom was the fact that he noticed that his clothes too had changed.

The first thing he noticed was his gloved hand, as the red of the glove easily caught on his eyes. From there it didn't take long before he inspected his new attire, then again maybe calling it new was not the right word.

And as he quickly understood what he was wearing he couldn't stop the grin that formed itself in his lips. The clothes itself felt like a second skin to him by now to the point that without even noticing it the first thing he did was to adjust the gloves properly just as the smile on his face became a smirk.

For at that moment he wasn't just Akira Kurusu, convicted teenager for more crimes that he could remember.

But instead he was now Joker, leader of the Phantom Thieves and owner of the Wild Card.

And boy was it the best feeling he had in a while.

Almost as if sensing his thoughts the door of the cell suddenly opened on its own, however nothing but darkness met his eyes as he looked towards the opening. He had no doubts as to where he was right now so it was with a confident strut that he walked towards the door, black coat willowing as he moved.

And as soon as he took a step outside of the cell the previously dark area was illuminated by a light that had him shielding his eyes from the intensity.

But once it became bearable enough he lowered his arm and his gaze narrowed instantly until his silver eyes finally landed on the center of the room, in which certain familiar figures resided.

And it was then those silver orbs of his met the wide, strange-looking eyes of the long-nosed figure he had grown used to seeing after months of being in his presence.

Although at least he now knew that this one was actually the _real_ owner of this place.

" **Welcome…to the Velvet Room"** His appearance might be the same as the fake one he had defeated, but with that voice there was no mistake in Joker's mind. He was now in the presence of the real Igor, the man that, as far as he knew, was the actual master of the Velvet Room.

He wasn't alone though, and once his gaze slowly drifted to the left of the grinning man his heart soared once he met a pair of golden eyes, ones that danced with nothing but warmth as they were locked onto his own silver orbs.

The smaller figure walked slowly from the side of her Master towards the raven-haired youth, her steps releasing small sounds as she walked closer to him while his eyes refused to leave her petite form, almost in fear that she would simply disappear if he even just blinked.

And he had to admit that it wouldn't be such a farfetched thing to believe, the fact that this could be a mere dream of course. Had he really missed this place so much that he was now having dreams about it?

After facing Yaldabaoth and being sent to juvie a part of him truly believed that he would never be able to set foot in this very same room, that he wouldn't be able to understand just who the real Igor was or talk to _her_ ever again.

It honestly scared him quite a bit, almost as much as never being able to see his friends and comrades outside of the prison. Maybe it had started as a necessity, but Akira couldn't deny that the Velvet Room pretty much became a second home to him, one that normally hosted a pair of sisters that he had become more than a little fond off.

But now they weren't here. No, instead it was _her_ the one that was facing him just a few feet away from where he stood.

And then she did one simple action.

She smiled at him, a kind smile filled with nothing but raw feelings that were even reflected on her golden gaze as she looked up tenderly at the man in front of her.

Then her voice came out of her lips, and just like that every fear that Akira could ever have about this being nothing but a dream or an illusion were easily swept away by the feeling of simply _knowing_ this wasn't fake.

The words that came out of her mouth just made it even more so of a fact to him.

" **Welcome back, my dear Trickster"** She said in that same soft, almost sweet tone that he was starting to relate to her, but there was something else in her voice, something that even now he couldn't put into words properly.

But even if he couldn't understand it right now it was still more than enough to have him smiling softly down at the golden-haired girl just as his own voice came out in an equally soft tone.

"Glad to be back"

 **P5P5P5P5P5P5P5P5P5P5P5P5P5**

Even after seeing such a spectacle many times in the past Igor was still no short of amazed at seeing just how much of an impact one of the Guests of the Velvet Room had made towards one of his assistants.

Of course he had been able to easily tell that the relationship between the Trickster and young Lavenza was far from just a professional one, he got that much after asking her to explain everything that had happened during his… _forced_ absence.

And one would have to be a fool to not realize just how much the newest Wild Card owner meant to the petite assistant after hearing her talk about him for as much as Igor had.

But even so this was still quite the sight, one that almost had him chuckling in amusement, after all as soon as the two had greeted one another it had been as if the figurative bubble had exploded with the way Lavenza had thrown any sense of calmness, and instead had opted for basically hugging the life out of the Trickster, who was responding back in kind as best as he could with a hug of his own.

Yes, it was quite the sight that even continued after minutes of Igor simply watching the pair embrace each other, almost as if they were alone to the world around them, and while Igor was more than ready to let his little assistant handle the Trickster by herself there were still a few things that needed to be say from him to the Persona-user.

So it was the drums of his fingers on the table in front of him that finally took the hugging duo out of their own little world, forcing them to separate themselves, although their hands were pretty much touching with how close they were now standing next to one another.

Also, you would have to be blind to not notice the reddening on the blonde's cheeks, but whatever embarrassment she could have felt by doing such a thing in front of her Master did little to move her from her spot to the left of her Trickster.

Igor had to keep another chuckle to himself.

" **You make for quite the refreshing sight in those garbs, Trickster"** The master of the Velvet Room said as his eyes appraised the young man in front of him **"One that I still regret not being able to see more throughout your journey"**

The regret in the voice of the long-nosed man was noticed by Akira, who could have swore even saw the permanent grin on the man's face twitch downwards for just a second, while Lavenza simply nodded, knowing that if something had affected her Master it was how Yaldabaoth had taken control of the room from him.

"I… don't understand" The Wild Card started with uncertainty as the two beings in the room focused their attention on him "Why am I here? Not that I'm complaining but… Did something happen?"

His question was voiced with a frown on his face, after all the only times he had been brought here like this before it had been when the fake Igor had some information to share with him, regularly about his _rehabilitation_.

His words seemed to amuse the real Igor however, if the way his smile became somehow wider was any type of indication at least.

" **Rest assured, Trickster, that there are no other calamities that need to be faced for the time being"** Igor said as his fingers drummed on the wooden table **"Consider this nothing more than a reward for your deeds"** His gaze then moved from the young man to his assistant before going back to him **"For** _ **both**_ **of you of course"**

The grateful and relieved smile that appeared on Akira's face contrasted quite a lot with the beaming smile of happiness and pride that Lavenza sported at hearing those words. She was even puffing out her chest, after all a direct praise from her Master was not to be taken lightly.

" **I shall leave the two of you to your own indiscretion. There are still things that need to be resolved to make sure such an attack on this place never repeats itself"** And with those words the form of Igor started flickering out, becoming hazy and see-through, albeit slowly.

" **I suggest you use your time here wisely as I can't guarantee you will be able to come back for the foreseeable future"** Nothing but an empty chair was left after those words, leaving no one else but the two Persona-users by themselves.

Without the long-nosed man Akira's gaze was quick to fall to the girl beside him, but it seemed she had beaten him to the punch, for as soon as his eyes looked down he realized she was already looking up at him with a beaming smile that left him unable to do anything besides simply smiling back in kind.

He was also quick to notice how she now had that book of hers back in her grasp for she was hugging it to her chest quite tightly.

And it was just _then_ that he noticed the strange glint that suddenly took over Lavenza's golden eyes.

For some reason he wasn't aware of it sent a shiver down his back.

But he would understand in the next minutes under the girl's care.

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His breath came out in short bursts as he did his best to calm his raging heart as he rested on the cold floor of the Velvet Room face up while his legs and arms were as spread as they could be.

Sweat moved from his forehead down to the sides of his face and he had to be grateful that his white mask wasn't present on his face at the moment. He didn't remember actually sweating during his missions, but considering what he had been doing he guessed it was only natural.

A melodic laugh filled his ears soon after, making him remember that he wasn't alone in the room. He did his best to raise his upper body while using his arms as support, even if the rest of his body was begging him to take a rest.

His silver eyes were quick to meet Lavenza's golden ones, who compared to him looked the complete opposite. While his tiredness was more than obvious she looked as normal as ever, with not even one strand of hair out of place.

" **You have become quite proficient with your power, Trickster"** She said as she walked closer to him while also closing the Compendium in her hands, her eyes shining as her smile refused to leave her lips.

"Thank you…" Akira whispered in response, still more than obviously out of breath after their previous endeavor. He honestly didn't think he deserved such praise with how one-sided the whole thing had been, but at least her words healed his wounded pride if just a bit "You're on a whole different level though"

" **I would disappoint my brother and sisters if I wasn't able to do this much!"** She said as if stating a fact, almost as if her strength was the norm with her family, something that just made Joker wonder just how strong those siblings of hers could be with the way she talked about them.

He had believed that the twins, Justice and Caroline, were as strong as Persona-users could get, but to say that Lavenza had the combined strength of the Twin Wardens would be an understatement in his opinion.

Every single one of his attacks had been matched by her with ease, his own Personas falling victims of the superior strength of the ones she had under her disposal to the point that the only moment he felt he had actually gained the upper hand had been when he had brought out the big guns.

And as the image of certain revolver-wielding, black winged Persona appeared on his mind he knew he meant that quite literally.

He had to admit that, of all the things he had expected Lavenza to request a small spar certainly wasn't one of them, but considering how she wanted to test his strength by herself instead of relying on the memories of her past forms he just wasn't able to refuse her.

Especially with that pout of hers, and even if his whole body was screaming at him for accepting such a crazy task he still knew he would do it again in a heartbeat.

Besides after a whole month of having no contact with the exterior, let alone being able to use his power, he certainly had a not-so small urge that needed to be addressed.

" **I truly mean it though"** She continued as she noticed him being caught on his own thoughts **"You are certainly on your way to master the power of the Wild Card, you should feel proud about that"** She smiled at him after that, which Akira did his best to return, before bringing a finger to her lips as a small frown appeared on her brow **"Although… If I were to compare them to my memories then I can help but to feel you were…missing something?"**

"Sorry about that…" He answered, knowing exactly what she was talking about "I guess I'm just not really used to fighting alone"

That small sentence was enough to cast a silence over the duo as both of their gazes fell to the ground, a frown appearing on Akira's face at that thought.

He certainly had felt it, just how different fighting alone was from fighting with his team. Of course this hadn't been the first time he had done so, Sae's Palace had forced him too after all, but even then he knew he had his team looking after his back even if they couldn't fight alongside him.

But here? The fact that they had been cut off from his life had hit him like a hammer as he kept expecting different things to happen during the fight, things that by now he had given by granted every time he wore his clothes of rebellion and every time he fought the enemies that swarmed the Metaverse.

Morgana's support and advices.

Ryuji's sheer physical prowess.

Ann's overwhelming fire techniques.

Yusuke's sharp blade and quickness.

Makoto's critical thinking and fists of steel.

Futaba's navigational expertise.

Haru's long-ranged arsenal.

But he hadn't just expected all of them to always fight alongside him, but to even _just_ be there. Ryuji arguing with Morgana as the cat fanned over Ann. Yusuke trying, and failing, to convince Futaba to stop calling him Inari while Haru did her best to make sure no one got upset until Makoto simply silenced them with one of her sharp looks.

He almost found himself snorting at the whole thing. To think he would realize just how much he truly missed them all after a fight of all things.

He wasn't able to give that much thought after that though, for the next thing he felt was Lavenza moving even closer to him until she was standing to his right, getting his attention as he had to look slightly up from his sitting position.

She did something before he was even able to question her, and that was to grab his right, still gloved hand, and raise it slightly. He thought for a second that she was trying to help him stand up, but that thought was swept away with how she simply held his bigger hand between both of hers with his palm facing up.

She then moved her right hand before moving her fingers across his palms almost as if trailing some sort of invisible mark, but even through all of that Akira's focus was simply on her face, for the peaceful smile that she had present on her lips at the moment could only be considered as beautiful in his opinion.

The feeling of her finger carefully moving through the palm of his hand was somehow able to calm him a bit, but it was quickly replaced by her own palm meeting his as she kept her attention on the spot in which they touched, her lips then parting as her voice came out once more.

" **Could you promise me something?"** She said slowly as her eyes went from their joined hands to his eyes.

The intensity of her eyes forced him to simply nod back at her request, the action making her smile widen.

" **Then…"** She started as her eyes went back to their hands **"Please never lose hope on them"**

The frown of confusion that appeared on his face at hearing her request only became stronger once she slowly raised her hand from his, and with the action a small, blue light was formed between the two palms, one that had him almost gasping in surprise.

" **I know things look difficult right now"** She continued as the light became stronger **"And I can't tell you how much it pains me that you had to sacrifice yourself even after defeating the fake god"**

He opened his mouth to retort, to assure her that it had been fine by him since it had been something that he had to do or else Shido would have simply walked free, but once her eyes met his again the words died on his throat.

" **But even if things look impossible right now"** Her words continued to assault him as the light connecting their hands shinned with an even stronger force **"Please, believe in those that are right now fighting for you!"**

And as soon as that what said the light between their hands shifted forms into one that they were both extremely familiar with, but even so it was one that made his eyes wide in shock for he never expected such a thing to appear there.

It was, to put it bluntly, a card, one bathed in a blue aura while it spun slowly, allowing Akira to see the design in both sides, although it was the same on both faces of the cards.

It was also a design that he was awfully familiar with; after all he certainly understood just what type of card it was.

It was a tarot card.

And this one right now represented none other than the Magician.

But before he was even able to say anything about it the card shifted, taking another form that he also knew very well.

The High Priestess.

And so it kept shifting every few seconds, each time showing a different Arcana from the ones he was aware off, and even once it reached the last one, Judgment itself, the card simply went back to the Magician before cycling among the Arcanas once more.

But even if Lavenza didn't explain to him what this all meant he would have to be stupid to not understand it, after all even as the different cards kept appearing one after the other he knew just who of his friends each card represented.

That thought was more than enough to make him smile, the images of those that he had made a bond throughout his year at Tokyo popping in his head as soon as their cards made itself present on his gaze.

Had he really started doubting them after just one month? What the hell was wrong with him? How could he just get lost in his self-pity when they were all still outside, probably waiting for him?

Iwai even sent someone to protect him from the inside, and even today he could remember the promise Sae had made about his freedom.

What kind of leader could he be if he just doubted his team at the first sign of trouble? He could already picture Morgana telling him how unbecoming that was for him.

And to be honest he couldn't deny that thought.

"Thank you…" He whispered as his gaze went towards Lavenza once more, trying his best to voice out just how grateful he felt towards her.

And by the way she tilted her head to the side while smiling he knew that she understood his feelings.

" **We all need help from time to time"** She talked almost as if she was scolding a small child **"And since I wasn't able to help you much before this was the least I could do for you, my Trickster"**

"You've done more than you realize" He responded with a shake of his head, after all he was quite sute that he wouldn't be alive if it wasn't for her.

It was another silence what fell among the two as Akira's eyes focused on the shifting cards, memories of his friends appearing as each card was presented to him, and it seemed Lavenza had no troubled with simply looking at the sight too.

It was her who broke the silence once more, and with her words the cards stopped shifting, keeping the form of certain Arcana that Akira knew meant a lot not only to him but to Lavenza as well.

" **I'm actually quite jealous of them, you know?"** Her tone was soft as both hers and Akira's gaze was focused on the Strength card that kept spinning slowly between their hands **"Even if they are a part of me, and even as their memories of you are my treasure now, I…. still would have loved to make those memories with you myself"**

The leader of the Phantom Thieves saw the assistant's smile turn into a frown, and he had to admit that he didn't understand exactly how that felt, to have your very being be separated into two just to have them fuse once again after some time.

He didn't know if he would ever truly understand just what Lavenza felt during that time, or what it felt for your memories to not be precisely your own, but what he did know for certain was that both Justine and Caroline had been dear to him, and even if Lavenza was still different from the Twins in his eyes she was still his dear friend.

And there was no way he could let someone like that show such a sad expression in front of him.

"Let's both have faith on them together then" He declared with nothing but conviction, making Lavenza the one to sport a surprised expression this time around, one that was followed by a flush of her cheeks as soon as Joker's other hand moved atop of hers and making her close the gap between her hand and his right one, the Strength card disappearing as Lavenza's smaller hand was held between both of Akira's.

"You said it yourself, let's trust them" He repeated right as he smiled at the petite girl "And then once I'm finally out and free… Let's make new memories together, just the two of us"

His words affected the blonde girl, who could do nothing but stare at her Trickster in open shock, but ever so slowly that shock turned into a heartwarming smile just as she put her other hand atop of his, her heart soaring as she felt the bond between them filling her very being.

"So what do you say?" He asked with a smirk, and the way she grasped his hand tightly was enough response to him.

The elated voice she used to answer him firmly was just an added bonus at that point.

" **Of course!"**

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 **That was a long one, and I hope it makes up for the delay.**

 **A lot of people were apparently really expecting the Lavenza chapter, and so I hope this one is good enough for your all. Writing for Lavenza has the problematic thing of there being pretty much no time for me to properly give the girl, so I went with this route instead.**

 **With this each girl has a chapter of her own, and now it is time to go back to the present before tackling the girls once more…Or that was the plan, but before we jump into Valentine's Day once more there is still one more special chapter that I want to put in here. About what? Well we have Past and Present chapters, so why not tackle the Future while we are at it?**

 **Thank you all for reading this far. This story had reached the 200 followers mark and for that I can't thank you all enough!**

 **Sorry if this chapter kills the language even more so than usual, I was kind of sick when checking over it.**

 **Next Chapter: Magician: Uncle Morgana.**


	13. Magician I

"Akira" Normal Speech

'Akechi' People's thoughts

 **"Persona"** Other being's speech

' **Velvet'** Other being's thoughts

 **Disclaimer: You know the drill; Persona and the SMT franchise belong to our lord Atlus.**

 **Magician I**

 **Family**

Family.

It was such a simple term and yet it was one that at one point had mystified him.

What made a group of individuals a family?

Was it because they had the same blood running through their veins? At one point he might have believed it so, after all, it was the obvious conclusion in his mind.

But things changed, circumstances changed, _he_ changed.

For so long he had been lost, believing to be something that he was not just for the sake of fitting in, his own clashing emotions blinding him of what he had right in front of him to the point that he had actually abandoned them at one point.

Looking back at it, he certainly acted as a fool there, didn't he?

But even after that, they had accepted him back with open arms; they kept fighting alongside one another against the incoming threats, even when a God itself stood in front of them.

And it was after all ended that he finally figured out what he truly was. To think he believed himself a human at one point, it almost made him snort just at the thought of it, and while the discovery of not only from where he came from, what he was and what he purpose truly was were things that he had felt more than glad about, he also found something just as, if not even more important to him.

It was his own definition of what having a family meant.

They didn't share the same blood nor was there a piece of paper that legally made them related to one another, but to him what they had was simply stronger than any of that stuff.

Among them, they found a place that they could belong to, a sense of camaraderie and companionship that could only be born by shedding tears and spilling blood together as they fought back to back to the beings of the Metaverse.

And among them, it was him that not only found a home, but also a family that he could proudly call himself a member of.

Such was the bond that tied together the members of the Phantom Thieves of Heart.

And you would think that after years of inactivity the members of such a tight-knitted group would have stayed just as they were before back in the day, at least when it came to their numbers in his opinion.

But the small being that had his undivided attention was the proof that the team had gained a new member, even if said member couldn't even talk right now.

It was the middle of the night and the shine of the moon coming from the window was the only source of light that filled the room he was currently in. He could perfectly see in the darkness though, so such a thing was hardly enough to bother him.

He was currently standing on top of one of the of the sides of a medium sized wooden crib, his tail hanging outside of the thing while his head was tilted down, letting his blue eyes focus solely on the small bundle that was currently resting on the crib.

Of course said bundle, which happened to be covered by a set of blankets, was a human.

An extremely small human yes, but one nonetheless, or if you wanted to be more precise: A baby.

One that even after weeks of being born still mystified him to no end.

Of course he knew that it was inevitable, that it was only a matter of time until one of these popped out from someone of the team, but even so, he didn't know if to be surprised or not about just _who_ the father of the baby was.

Then again maybe it was just that said father had initiative running through his veins, he could be considered the first member of the team after all, and that was ignoring the fact that he was also the _leader_ of the said team.

And now said person was also a father to a small baby daughter.

Boy had things changed from those times in which they slept in a dirty attic all by themselves.

His eyes inspected the baby in all of her sleeping glory just like how he had done so many times ever since she had been born. He didn't know why, but such a sight of her peaceful sleeping was still enough to fill him with awe.

It wasn't like he had experience with babies before anyway, although even if he had there was still no denying that this one was special to him.

He really wasn't kidding about the team gaining a new member; after all even if you ignored who the mother was, the fact that she was Joker's daughter already made her an honorary member of the Phantom Thieves by default.

And by the looks he remembered all the other members had as soon as they saw her, he knew that he wasn't the only one who thought as such.

"So here is where you where hiding"

A quiet, almost whispering voice called out to him from the door of the room, and it was one that he recognized pretty much immediately. He didn't even have to turn around to know who the person that was approaching the crib was, his own blue eyes still focused on the sleeping baby right until he felt a hand slowly stroking his furry back.

That was enough to get his attention, finally forcing him to take his eyes away from her sleeping form to look at his side, his gaze instantly meeting an amused pair of tired silver eyes.

" **Shouldn't you be sleeping? You have work tomorrow in case you forgot"** He reproached the man to his side almost instantly, however the answer he got was nothing but a smile.

"I could be telling you the same, even if you don't work I didn't think you were the night type" His smooth voice followed said smile, although the whole effect became mute by the bags that he was able to see under the man's eyes.

Although he had to admit that, even after years of knowing him he still hadn't changed that much. Sure, he was a little bit taller now, his hair wasn't that much of a mess as it was before and he even stopped wearing those fake glasses of his, but all in all, he still saw nothing but his partner, leader and best friend in front of him.

Sure, an extremely more tired version of said guy but hey, details were details.

He saw as the raven-haired man to his side did his best to stifle a yawn while his silver eyes moved from the black cat to the crib, or to be more precise, to the one resting inside said crib.

And as soon as those tired eyes met the sleeping form of his daughter, a smile that Morgana could only describe as being filled with love appeared on the man's lips.

It was quite the sight if Morgana had to be honest, one that by now he was also used to seeing, and by now he knew that it would only be a matter of time before his leader ended up spoiling his daughter rotten.

"She's quite the sight, isn't she?" He heard him mutter to his side, and the cat found himself simply nodding without even realizing it, although he then blinked slowly, a smirk making itself present on his face.

" **You say that just because she's your kid or you're just pointing out the fact that she isn't crying her eyes out this time?"** In response the hand that was on his back suddenly moved to his head right before pushing it down slightly, getting a small yelp from the blue-eyed feline.

"A bit of both to be honest" Even so Joker ended up answering with honesty, and it wasn't like Morgana didn't understand the feeling.

Nights had become restless every since they got this new addition to their family after all.

The pair of Persona users ended up falling in a comfortable silence soon after that, mostly out of the fear of waking up the snoozing baby below them while also knowing that if they did the mother of said baby would be coming up to the room as fast as possible.

No need to wake up the two ladies of the household after all.

But even then said silence ended up being broken by the raven-haired man who had already moved his eyes to look directly at Morgana.

"Hey, could you do me a favor?" His voice came out softly, and in such a tone that Morgana knew was only used when it came to important things.

Suffice to say, the leader of the Phantom Thieves had his undoubted attention almost immediately.

"Just… Keep an eye on her, alright?" It sounded as if he didn't know how to voice out his request properly, which was only intensified by the tired sigh that left him soon after "I mean, I know she probably won't be able to understand you when she grows up but… If it is you then…"

" **Was that all? For a moment I thought it was something else"** The answer he got from the cat caught him by surprise, but before he was even able to say anything else it was Morgana who beat him to the punch **"She's your daughter, you know? She's a member of the team by default so** _ **of course**_ **I'm going to look out for her, even if you didn't ask"** His blue orbs shinned with amusement as his next words left his mouth **"Even if she doesn't look that much like you"**

"Hey, I'll have you know that she got my eyes" Sure, her hair was obviously something she got from her mother, but those silver eyes hiding behind her closed eyelids were all from him.

"Thank you though…" He continued soon after while a grateful smile appeared in his lips, also feeling as if a weight had been lifted from his shoulder "Feels good to know that she'll have uncle Morgana on her side.

Hearing that, the black cat almost fell down in surprise before a happy glint shined in his eyes right as he puffed out his chest proudly, his tail moving lazily behind him.

Uncle Morgana huh? That didn't sound so bad to his ears. Definitely better than uncle Ryuji or Yusuke if anyone asked him.

" **No problem, partner"** He said with a resolute nod **"Now go and rest, you look like you're going to fell asleep at any second now"**

A snort left the raven-haired man as soon as he heard that, although the advice didn't sound bad at all to him. He could certainly use a night of uninterrupted sleep, so it was with a last, soft smile as he looked down at the sleeping visage of his daughter that he got more than ready to go back to his bed.

And he would have done so if said daughter didn't suddenly start stirring in his sleep.

Her small movement was enough to freeze both human and cat in their tracks, their previous happy expression slowly morphing into looks of nothing but sheer horror.

And then both silver and blue were met by another pair of silver eyes as the baby slowly, but surely, opened her eyes.

A second of silence followed that…

And then all hell broke loose inside that room.

"Shhh please don't cry please don't cry" The man whispered softly as he rocked his child back and forth in his arms, a panicked expression present on his face just as the wails of the infant filled not only his ears but also the room.

As for the other Persona user of the room…

" **Well good luck with that one, Joker!"** Never in his life had Akira seen Morgana move so fast from point A to point B, after all he was sure that if he had blinked he would have missed Morgana running from the crib straight to the door of the room in less than a second.

Well, there went uncle Morgana.

"Traitor…" He whispered under his breath as he tried his best to stop the crying child in his arms. You would think that after weeks of the same he would have gotten better at such a thing, but you would be absolutely wrong.

Fighting and defeating Shadows? A piece of cake by now.

Calming down his crying daughter? Fighting Yaldabaoth had been somehow easier in comparison!

He suddenly stopped his movements as soon as he heard the sound of the door of the room opening. His back was facing the door so he couldn't have known who had made said sound, but the leader of the Phantom Thieves was quick to turn around, a hopeful expression forming on his face.

Of course Morgana wouldn't abandon him like that, not after everything they had gone through!

But instead of meeting the eyes of said cat his gaze was quick to match another pair of eyes just as, if not more, tired than his own, with the owner of said eyes sporting what could only be described as a clearly not amused expression.

Luckily for him if he had learned something in the years he had been married to his wife, it was how to deal with such situations.

"You look beautiful and I love you so much, my dear" He said with the best smile that he could muster, although whatever effect he had tried to convey became mute as soon as the wails of their daughter became somehow fiercer.

And such was just another night in the Kurusu household.

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 **First of all, I apologize for taking so long with this chapter. If you want to blame something for that, then blame both Danganronpa V3 and Cuphead. I will try to get the next chapter done faster, that much I assure you.**

 **This chapter was just a fun little idea that I wanted to implement since all of the chapters with the female Confidants in this fic are in the past, why not make the male Confidants have moments in the future? Of course, by moments I mean them interacting with the Joker's family, aka him, his anonymous wife and their daughter (whose name I haven't thought up yet).**

 **These chapters will be extremely rare though, so there's that, and I bet the main question this chapter will bring up is about who Joker ended up marrying in this story, and the answer right now is: Who knows?**

 **Thank you all for your patience and for having read this far!**

 **Next Chapter: Present III**


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